


Zero Hour

by Azure_Witch13, Green_Phantom_Queen



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga), Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
Genre: Evil Ray Akaba, F/M, M/M, Multi, on a small hiatus for a rewrite, there is a twist to this story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:54:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 175,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24697906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Azure_Witch13/pseuds/Azure_Witch13, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Green_Phantom_Queen/pseuds/Green_Phantom_Queen
Summary: Arc-V AU. In a twist of fate, Yuri was ordered to gather the three parts of his daughter Ray, and to start with Yuzu Hiragi, however, the unexpected happened, as Starving Venom was ready to strike Everything around Yuzu goes dark, and she is in a dark void with three other girls and an older woman with the same face as hers.Focusing more on the girls and their struggles as they try to resurrect not only Ray but Zarc as well.
Relationships: Akaba Ray/Zarc, Atem/Mutou Yuugi, Hiiragi Yuzu/Sakaki Yuya, Jack Atlas/Fudou Yuusei/Crow Hogan/Kiryuu Kyousuke, Kurosaki Ruri/Yuto, Mutou Yuugi/Yami Yuugi, Rin/Yugo (Yu-Gi-Oh), Yami Yugi/Yugi Muto
Comments: 75
Kudos: 121





	1. Thorned Rose In Bloom

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! Azure here, Green_Phantom_Queen and I wanted to have a small break from Kingdom from the Ashes and Decided to write the chapter for this one because the idea seemed new and not as stale or as cookie cutter as other ideas. To our Kingdom fans we hope you enjoy this, and don't worry we're planing things out. 
> 
> Thank you for supporting us!
> 
> (GPQ: For those who are confused with the title, this comes from a Ray Bradbury story of the same name. It concerns with kids playing a game called "Invasion" and the parents are useless and ignore the signs that the game is actually real and aliens are going to invade the Planet. Also the Akabas have the kanji for 'Zero' in their names so it's kinda neat foreshadowing)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Chapter has been edited since 26/08/2020

For as long as he could remember, Yuri had been groomed to obey any and all orders. Like the rest of Academia’s students, he was to get his orders and fulfill his mission no matter what, and of course, Yuri delivered without question. However, when it comes to truly fulfilling these orders,the Predaplant user found that it’s usually how you go about doing them rather than following them to the letter, after all as long as the orders are fulfilled there’s always room for having some fun.

Yuri was always the strongest, the smartest, the best, the most ferocious out of his fellow students. No one was equal to him, which made others fear him, despise him even, be wary of what he can do to them. He was always ruthless when he dueled even as a child, and it made others avoid him like the plague. 

These feelings of isolation and hate festered inside him like an infection. Until that fateful day that Professor Leo Akaba approached him and offered the purple-haired boy a position of power, giving him a purpose and a use to help him suppress the feelings of rejection and loneliness, replacing them with anger and an intent to hurt, the more he caused pain, the more he showed everyone around him his true powers, satisfaction filled him. He was stronger, better than them all, after all, in this place the strong survived while the weak was left to perish.

Yuri was given one of the top positions in Academia, towering over most students, he relished hearing Starving Venom roar in his ear approvingly as he destroyed indiscriminately. 

Yuri stood before the Professor after he was summoned once more, he was given an image of four girls with identical faces, with eyes and hair that vary in color. His task was to gather these girls no matter the cost. They already had one of them; the Academia “Princess” Serena as most of the Obelisk Force and teachers had taken to calling her. 

She seemed naive to Yuri. She always sought attention from the Professor and wanted to go into the frontlines of the Heartland invasion, but she was never allowed to go, with the Professor constantly giving her the tired excuse that she was “not ready”. Given that she was one of four parts to this so-called “Key” Yuri figured it meant that the girl was an asset that the Professor couldn't afford to lose, regardless of how strong she really was. 

But Serena wasn’t the focus right now. The Professor’s eyes were on the girl with pink hair and blue eyes.

“I currently do not have any spies in Standard,” Professor Akaba explained. “However I did meet her with her father once alongside another man I had considered a friend. Her name is Yuzu Hiragi.”

“Interesting,” Yuri said, narrowing his eyes at the projection. He saw nothing special in this girl, what sort of key would she and the other three even make?  _ Ugh who cares?  _ Yuri thought with a smirk.  _ I get to be in a game of cat and mouse, so why not? Professor’s orders and all. _

“Does she specialize in any summoning technique?” Yuri asked. He was quite confident that he wouldn’t have any problem facing these girls.

“When I left that dimension, most summoning methods were hardly known; I expect she only knows tribute summoning. I want you to take her as discreetly as possible, or unneeded trouble and suspicion will rise. After that, we will set our eyes on the one in the Xyz dimension. Because of the recent invasion, all of the survivors would be rather weak and exhausted from the fight. She herself would be open for you to sweep in and take her,” The professor said, clenching his hand into a fist in front of him and narrowing his eyes. 

“But that would take away all the fun,” Yuri said with a mock pout.

Akaba raised his eyebrow but ignored Yuri’s so called ‘playfulness’; this was just a part of Yuri that he had to deal with, like it or not he was still the best and strongest student Leo had. “The last girl was found in Synchro, apparently she’s the kind that causes a lot of trouble so she was easily spotted, however getting to her might be harder that Roget originally thought due to… a change in management.”

Yuri chuckled and raised his eyebrow. “Oh? What happened? Did he lose his position or something?” 

“No, he’s still in a high position and is working hard to keep it, the actual details are unimportant, simply, be careful not to get spotted.”

“Of course,” Yuri replied with his usual amused smirk as he bowed to the Professor with a hand over his heart. 

Akaba narrowed his eyes. “And remember Yuri, I do not want these girls harmed. Not a single scratch on any of them, is that understood?” 

“Your wish is my command, Professor,” The smirk never left Yuri’s lips. 

“Good, now leave, you are dismissed.” 

“Yes, Professor,” Yuri remarked before turning around and leaving, preparing his duel desk for the trip to the Standard Dimension.

Professor Leo Akaba’s eyes trailed back to the projection of the four girls, his heart heavy as he thought of just one girl with that face, with beautiful eyes, a caring heart and a headstrong personality.

_ Ray... _ He thought.  _ The time that you will return to this world is drawing closer. You will return, here by my side, and the demon that caused all of this suffering will be slain at my feet. And he will never ever take you away from me again. _

_ Please wait until then, my beloved daughter. Please wait. _

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

“Come on, Yuya,” A pink haired girl groaned at a red and green boy goofing around. “Can you please take dueling seriously right now?!”

Said red and green haired boy was riding on the back of an adorable looking pink hippo wearing a vest and top hat as if he was a cowboy at a rodeo. Yuya laughed as his Hip Hippo galloped happily across the field, Plain Plains, as Yuzu and their friend Noboru Gogenzaka watched.

“Oh come on, Yuzu. Just lighten up!” Yuya Sakaki said with a big show stopping grin on his face, a trait he inherited from his father, Yusho Sakaki. “What’s the point of dueling if not to have fun and make others smile?” 

Yuzu Hiragi, his childhood friend, sighed as she stood on the circular stone platform in the center of the field. She usually didn’t have a problem with Yuya’s playfulness, however Yuzu had been on edge for a while, as if someone was following her around, ready to attack her any second, and Yuya’s usual playfulness was rubbing her the wrong way. “I don’t know! Winning?! You know sometimes that’s important too, and considering the amount of people you lost to--!”

“Yeah, yeah I know, but come on, Joey and Mana aren’t exactly easy to beat. How many times have you lost to Mana by now?” Yuya said dismissively. 

“That doesn’t mean giving up and stop trying when there are people stronger than you Yuya! You need to get stronger! Can you at least take this duel against  _ me  _ seriously?” Yuzu sighed as she had her strongest monster, Mozarta the Melodious Maestra, patiently waiting for the duel to continue.

“Not until I make that frown of yours upside-down!” Yuya said with a big goofy grin. “After all, you can gather more flies with honey than vinegar!”

“Okay, that’s it!” Yuzu shouted before turning to Gongenzaka. “Turn the field off, I’m going for a walk!”

Gongenzaka groaned; this wouldn’t have been the first time he had been asked to disable the Action Field because of their arguments. “Fine, fine.”

Yuzu sighed as the Action Field dispersed and she began to walk off, frustrated, irritated, annoyed and downright pissed off at having her best friend not taking his duels seriously.

“Yuzu! Yuzu, don’t go!” Yuya exclaimed. “I’m sorry!”

“I don’t care! I just need to go for a walk!” She yelled at him before grabbing her bag and getting out of the school. 

Yuya sighed before turning to Gongenzaka and started to say something before stopping, with a shiver falling down his spine not for the first time in the past four days. 

“Is something wrong?” Gongenzaka asked. 

Yuya shook his head looking up at the rooftops. “I’m not sure... something just...feels off somehow.” 

“Should we go after Yuzu?”

“No, let her cool off first,” Yuya answered, looking at the time on his Duel Disk. “She’ll probably go get something to eat and then walk home.”

“Speaking of which, I am feeling hungry. Perhaps we should call it a day?”

“Yeah, why not? Oh I know this good ramen place that opened up recently…”

“That sounds perfect,” Gogenzaka said with a nod.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

It had been four days… four days for Yuri to be hiding and stalking the girl named Yuzu Hiragi as the Professor had called her. From her going to school, to heading to this You Show “Duel School”, to her returning home and having a calming dinner with her father. He watched her, and watched the people of this dimension. How they interacted, how they dueled, how winners treated losers. 

It was quite different to the Fusion Dimension. With most people living relatively luxuriously. It sickened Yuri to some extent, especially seeing all these duelists duel for fun, instead of showing their power and destroying their opponent. Even the powerful duelists that Yuri had gotten a glimpse of were never as vicious or as determined to win as much as the Academia Students. 

What did give Yuri pause most of all was the boy with his face, Yuya Sakaki, a goofball at the best of times, with a far too cheery attitude that was amusing at the start but began to get annoying quite quickly if you asked Yuri.  _ “Dueling to make people smile”? Heh. The only one smiling is the victor, the loser is to be left behind, they’re nothing but stepping stones.  _

The kid gave him a headache, and Yuri desperately wanted to teach him a lesson, maybe seck Starving Venom at him and teach him the meaning of fear, but sadly, he had to obey that Professor and be inconspicuous, at least he can have his fun with scaring the girl off. 

After days of waiting for the bubblegum hair princess to finally be alone, Yuri was gonna take full advantage of that. It was sunset, there was no sign of anyone in sight, the girl only knew Tribute Summoning, this will be easy...and simultaneously boring. Yuri rolled his eyes and followed Yuzu, he can’t place physical scars on her, but making her scream would be as enjoyable, Yuri thought as his smirk widened. 

After all, he did promise the Professor not to leave a  _ scratch _ on her. 

…

…

... 

“Ugh what’s wrong with me?” Yuzu asked herself with a sigh. “I’ve never been this jumpy and short fused about Yuya’s dueling before. I mean, yes, it could get pretty annoying but it would usually take more than that to make me snap at him,” Yuzu muttered this as she left a food cart that made crepes, stuffing herself into one filled with strawberries, whipped cream and drizzled with chocolate syrup. She usually would have one of these whenever she was feeling frustrated with Yuya. She tore through the thin pancake like she was a dog tearing through a steak, not caring that her mouth was covered in whipped cream.

“Now to be fair, I was quite annoyed by his antics with just one day of knowing him, I can’t possibly know how much patience you must have to have years of that,” A strange yet familiar voice came, making Yuzu freeze and turn around with a glare.

But the minute she locked eyes at that stranger, Yuzu gasped, dropping her crepe in surprise. Before her stood a boy the same age as her and with the same face as Yuya, only his hair had a different style and color, purple and pink instead of red and green, with pink malicious eyes that screamed danger instead of red eyes that were filled with humor and happiness. 

“W-what the hell?” Yuzu gasped. “Who are you? What do you want? And why...why do you look so much like Yuya?” 

“Call me, ‘Yuri’, princess,” Yuri said with a bow, the smirk still in place. “And I’m here to take you into another magical land. Will you join me?” he asked, extending his hand, with a sweet smile that was filled with venom. 

“No way!” Yuzu said, unable to not see Yuri except for how he looks like a sadistic and twisted version of Yuya. She wished that Yuya was there, stating that this was a joke and he’d apologize for scaring her...but...no, Yuya wasn’t there. She has to defend herself.

“Shame,” Yuri sighed before his lips twisted back into his usual smirk. “Well, we’re just going to have to do this the fun way.” Yuri pulled out his Duel Disk, a design that Yuzu had never seen before, and slipped a deck of cards inside.

“Duel me, Yuzu Hiragi,” Yuri cackled. “And let us enter the garden of death!”

Yuzu activated her Duel Disk. “Fine then! It’s time for the show to begin!”

**Yuri: 8000**

**Yuzu: 8000**

“Ladies first,” Yuri said, smiling at what he has drawn. Oh yes, he’ll win this in less than five turns. 

“You’re going to regret this,” Yuzu said, drawing her card. “Because I just drew the Spell Card Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen which allows me to Special Summon a Fairy-type monster from my hand when I have no monsters on the field!”

She played a Continuous Spell Card that showed a marble temple with two large columns on each side covered in vines and red flowers, the ceiling opening up to reveal the sky, and long red curtains draped over the walls. There was a stone throne on top of three steps and two statues of warriors wielding spears flanked the sides of the throne.

“And now I’m going to summon my strongest monster. Ready?”

Yuri narrowed his eyes as yellow music notes rose from the ground, rising like a tornado as Yuzu began to recite a chant for this monster.

"Enchanting melody echoing in the heavens. Awaken the sleeping virtuoso. Come forth! Level 8! Mozarta the Melodious Maestra!!"

Rising from the ground was a tall fairy with silver skin, vivid white hair and a small red hat on her head. She wore a beautiful red gown with pink ruffles on the side, sleeves and hem of the skirt. She had golden trim on the bodice and skirt, and the dress also had short sleeves and red cuffs. She waved a thin conductor’s baton in her right hand. Her feet were covered in pretty gold boots and, befitting the Fairy-type she was, she had beautiful glass wings with gold edges. (2600 ATK)

“Mozarta’s effect!” said Yuzu. “Once per turn I’m allowed to Special Summon a LIGHT Fairy-type monster from my hand. So I Special Summon Aria the Melodious Diva to support Mozarta!”

Mozarta waved her hand as a new Melodious monster with pink skin rose. She had short purple hair nice and curled at the ends and wore a maroon skirt that also covered her handst with an orange floral skirt and pink nylon decorated with musical notes. She had a single harp-like wing with an orange border,and a similarly orange colored mask over her left eye. (1600 ATK)

“And why stop there?” Yuzu continued. “Since I have a ‘Melodious’ monster on the field, I’ll Special Summon Sonata the Melodious Diva from my hand to join in!”

Next was a cyan-haired fairy in an equally cyan dress decorated with blue music notes and a cyan cravat over her neck. A blue G clef covered her right arm and she had a blue eight note on her left leg. She frowned as she ran a hand through her long green hair while she fluttered in the air due to her sole harp-wing that was green in the membrane and the border a dark blue. Like Aria, she also wore a mask, colored blue and covering her right eye. (1200 ATK)

“And Sonata’s effect kicks in! Now all Fairy-type monsters I control gain 500 attack and defense points as long as Sonata is on the field!”

Sonata clasped her hand in prayer and sung as three spotlights shone over her and the other Melodious monsters. (Mozarta: 2600/2000 -) 3100/2500, Aria: 1600/1200 -) 2100/1700, Sonata: 1200/1000 -) 1700/1500)

“I end this with one card face-down,” said Yuzu, slipping one more card into her Duel Disk. “And I end my turn there.” 

“If that’s the best that you can do, then I’m afraid this will be over before I really had my fun,” said Yuri, drawing his card. “And I’ll start by playing this lovely Spell Card called Predaplast!” Yuzu shivered, knowing that whatever Yuri was about to do was not good for her. 

“This allows me to reveal as many Predaplant cards in my hand and place Predator Counters on your monsters,” Yuri explained revealing three monsters in his hand. “Now with every Predator Counter, your monsters’ level becomes 1”

Yuzu found not sure how that would hinder her or help Yuri as she had never faced these monsters before, but for now these counters were not harming her or her monsters. Still Yuri’s smirk unsettled her to say the least, can she get Yuya’s happy smile back now please? She did not like looking into this...broken twisted fun house mirror of her best friend. 

“Next I summon Predaplant Clamydusenduw,” Yuri said, summoning a monster to the field. 

It looked like part plant, part lizard, with red dots on its neck (600 ATK) 

“W-what is that thing?” Yuzu asked, eyes wide.

Yuri chuckled, loving the fear he’s putting in the girl. “Predaplant Clamydusenduw effect, any card with a Predator counter on it that is used for fusion summoning is treated as Dark. So I play the Spell Card called Predaprime Fusion!”

Yuzu’s eyes widen at this Quick-play Spell Card. It was kinda like Polymerization, instead there were blue and red plants in place of the orange creatures in that card, and there was the silhouette of a massive dragon glaring at her.

" This spell card allows me to Fusion Summon a Dark monster using monsters from both sides of the field, and thanks to Clamydusenduw, your monsters can be considered as dark” Yuri’s smirk mocked her, and Yuzu’s eyes widened understanding what Yuri’s about to do.

“So I’ll think I’ll choose hmm,” Yuri places a hand over his chin pretending to think it over before a smile appears on his lips well let's fuse your Mozarta and Aria!” Yuri said, pointing at the two monsters.

The three Melodious monsters looked terrified as dark vines formed from shadows wrapped themselves around Aria and Motzerta and took them to Yuri’s side before opening a portal and sucking the two of them in 

“Two beautiful flowers with an insect-alluring fragrance! Now become one, and from the hell beneath your petals, give birth to a new terror! Fusion Summon! Appear! Poisonous dragon with hungry fangs. Level 8! Starving Venom Fusion Dragon!" Yuri chanted clasping his hands together, the wind from the portal. 

Emerging from the portal was a dragon with green scales and large purple wings. Covering its massive body were red glowing orbs like flower buds. It had dark purple talons, two white horns on each side of his face, and the end of its tail had an ivory hook ready to lure in prey so they could be swallowed whole. (2800 ATK)

Yuzu’s jaw dropped as she looked in horror at the newly summoned dragon that looked ready to eat her. She was like those princesses in the fairy tales she grew up with; paralyzed in fear as a dragon was about to snatch her into his gruesome claws.

“Oh, we’re not done yet~” Yuri singsonged. “Thanks to Predaplant Clamydusenduw’s other effect I can Fusion summon another Fusion Monster using it and any other dark monster.”

Yuzu trimpled as Predaplant Clamydusenduw glowed and Yuri sent it and another card to the graveyard with the fusion portal opening once more.”

“ _ Flowers growing in the garden of hell, let your petals fall and from your roots let a new monster grow! Fusion Summon Level 7!Predaplant Chimerafflesia.”  _

Predaplant Chimerafflesia appeared from the portal behind Yuri, it looked like a sentient giant flower with red and white it looked like it had arms made of flytrap flower ready to bite her and eat her alive  _ (2500 ATK) _

Yuzu could feel her heart hammer in her chest, as she began to breathe hard, unsure what she could do, her hands were shaking from fear, looking at the ferocious dragon coming towards her monster ready to destroy her. Her eyes widened before time seemed to slow down into a crawl and freeze, Yuzu gasped before her eyes blinked open, she looked around still in shock and fear as she found herself in a black void, almost endless and terrifying in its vastness.

_ “Hey! What the hell is going on?” She heard a girl’s voice that she didn’t much recognize. Yuzu looked around before the shadows dissipated to reveal to Yuzu’s utter shock a girl with the same face as hers, only looking pissed off as all hell, glaring at Yuzu with amber eyes, her hair looked shorter than Yuzu’s with green hair and lighter green bangs. She looked ready to attack Yuzu.  _

_ “W-who are you?” Yuzu asked.  _

_ “I could ask you the same damn question, and why do you look like me?” the girl asked, placing her hands on her hips.  _

_ “I…” Yuzu started to say but wasn’t sure how to even respond, everything about today had been a shock after the other and this...void and other girl who looked almost identical to her were just adding more. “I...I don’t know!” Yuzu telled before falling down on her knees.  _

_ “Uh…” The girl looked taken back at Yuzu’s outburst, taking a step back, and blinking at the crying girl. _

_ “Hey, are you okay?” A softer voice asked before another girl appeared beside Yuzu and kneeled beside her, placing her hands on Yuzu’s shoulders. The girl also had the same face as Yuzu with lilac colored locks, her hair tied back. The girl didn’t hesitate to smile reassuringly at Yuzu before taking her hands and squeezing them.  _

_ Yuzu sniffed and smiled at the girl beside her, yes this was all weird and creepy but at least the newer girl seemed sweet and nice and not ready to attack her.  _

_ “I...I think I’ll be fine,” Yuzu said with a shaky voice.  _

_ The girl smiled sweetly and nodded. “I’m Ruri Kurosaki from Heartland.” _

_ “Yu-Yuzu Hiragi,” Yuzu introduced herself. Both girls looked at the third one who seemed to have relaxed a bit.  _

_ “I’m Rin,”she said with a sigh.  _

_ “Just Rin?” Ruri asked as she stood up and extended a hand to Yuzu to help her up too.  _

_ “Just Rin,” the girl said, crossing her arms. “Now--” _

_ “Hey!” Another angry yell came and the three girls looked at the newest girl, again, like the three of them she had the same face, her hair however was purple with cyan colored locks, her hair tied into a ponytail with a yellow ribbon. “Where are we, and how did we get here? Actually who are any of you?” She asked, eyeing the three of them with untrusting eyes.  _

_ “Well to answer that is. We don’t know, we have no clue and before you ask I’m Rin, the girl with feathers in her hair is Ruri and pink hair is Yuzu,” Rin said, counting on her fingers.  _

_ The three girls stared at her. “What?” Rin asked with a shrug. “Might as well get it over with,” she looked back at the fourth girl. “And you are..?” _

_ “Serena,” Serena answered, before crossing her arms.  _

_ “Hold on,” Ruri said looking at Serena and noticing the girl’s red coat. “Y...you’re from Academia!”  _

_ “Yeah, what of it?” Serena asked, raising her eyebrow.  _

_ Ruri frowned before she bawled her hands into fists and raised her hand, eyes wet with tears. “What of it...WHAT OF IT?! I’ll show you ‘What of it’ right now with a --” She looked down at her bare arm and gasped. “My Duel Disk! It’s gone!” She yelled in a panic, which prompted the three girls to look at their arms as well.  _

_ “What’s going on here?” Yuzu asked. _

_ Rin snarled. “Okay whoever the fuck is doing this, you better show yourself or else!” _

_ “You’ll do what? Snarl at the void?” Yuzu asked.  _

_ “Well at least I’ll be doing something!” Rin yelled.  _

_ Ruri started moving around with her hands in front of her trying to look for something solid to no avail.  _

_ “Okay I know I wanted to leave the damn island and go to the front lines but this is not what I wanted!” Serena yelled to the voidness.  _

_ Ruri’s body seemed to shake with anger before she turned to Serena with tears filling her eyes. “What? Come to our dimension to just destroy it! All of you really are heartless!”  _

_ “What’s that supposed to mean?!” Serena asked, glaring at Ruri. _

_ “Don’t play dumb! You Academia goons came into our home and destroyed everything, you carded everyone, families lost, our land in ruin, and we live in fear because of the war you started!”  _

_ “What?! Listen here you…” Serena advanced towards Ruri as if ready to fight the girl hand to hand.  _

_ “What’s happening?” Yuzu asked, turning to Rin. _

_ Rin shrugged, seeming just as perplexed as Yuzu was. _

_ “We should stop this,” Yuzu said.  _

_ “I don’t know; it could be fun seeing a brawl,” Rin said with a small amused smirk.  _

_ Yuzu scowled and with a growl she moved in to stand between the two girls. Rin sighed and rolled her eyes before she went to help Yuzu.  _

**_“That’s quite enough!”_ ** _ A voice sounded as the shadows parted ways again to reveal a new commer. The four girls froze as they looked at her, she looked like an older version of all of them, with pink and auburn hair. She seemed to radiate power and anger, the four girls could say nothing only stare in wonder and amazement, they could almost hear their hearts pounding in their chests, the woman seemed familiar as if they knew all of their lives, something inside of them compelled them to listen to her every word, she was important, she was their Lady.  _

**_“Good,”_ ** _ she said with a nod.  _ **_“Now, let me introduce myself to you. My name is Ray Akaba.”_ ** __

_ “Akaba?” Serena and Yuzu asked. “As in the Professor/Reiji uh…” both Yuzu and Serena asked before exchanging looks.  _

_ Ray nodded.  _ **_“Yes, I’m the bastard’s daughter, or was. That man is no father of mine,”_ ** _ she said with narrow eyes.  _

_ “Hold on,” Rin said. “I don’t understand, what the fuck is going on? Who is this professor? What is this war? What is Academia? And if you’re the one who brought us here, why?”  _

**_“These questions will be answered all in good time but for now, I need you four to do something very important.”_ **

_ “Which is?” Serena asked, raising her eyebrow.  _

_ Ray smirked. “ _ **_I am asking you four if you can help to resurrect me and my beloved.”_ **

_ The four girls looked at Ray in shock. _

_ “I...what?” Yuzu asked. How were four girls supposed to bring the dead back to life?! _

_ Ray sighed.  _ **_“Long ago, my...lover, Zarc and I became two of the most powerful beings in existence. But some people did not like that, feared our might and our strength. My father, Leo Akaba was one of them. Defeating us wasn’t easy, but four duelists from different times had arrived to face us, thanks to the magic of the cards my father created, Zarc and I were split into four, our lives ending. Zarc is not awake yet, but I am, and you girls are my vassals. Through you I can resurrect us both.”_ **

_ “We…” Yuzu said unsure.  _

_ Ray’s aura rose, veiling her and the four other girls in them, making the younger girls relax slightly and continue to listen.  _ **_“It’s alright, you don’t have to be scared of this. You will not do this alone, or as you are. I will give each of you power and control, as my vassals should have. The power to end your war, Ruri, to return Heartland to the beautiful place it once was,”_ ** _ She placed her hand on Ruri’s shoulder, as all the girls saw flash of a beautiful city being reduced to rubbles in a flash, all of them gaining the sense of sadness anger and mourning, they wanted it to stop.  _

**_“Rin, you and Yugo will have the life of luxury you desire, I will grant power to all of you so that nothing can stand in your way to achieve your true desires.”_ ** __

_ Rin looked down thinking the words over.  _

**_“Serena, you’ll never have to prove yourself to anyone again, you’ll have the freedom to do what you want, to go wherever you like without the Professor getting in your way, you’ll have the respect you desire.”_ **

_ Serena’s eyes widened. _

**_“And there is something for you as well Yuzu. I know some people look down on you, I know you want to prove yourself to reach out and learn more. I can help you, give you everything you want, help you and Yuya.”_ **

_ The four girls were lost in thought at the offers, it should worry them yet somehow, they wanted to trust Ray’s words, to help her achieve her desire, and resurrect her and Zarc.To...to become one. _

**_“Reach out to me girls, take the power I offer, and the task I give you.”_ **

_ The girls looked at Ray, a promise of help, to get everything they wanted. End the war, be free, be powerful, achieve their dreams, it all seemed far too sweet, and they all wanted to take the offer and not look back.  _

**_“One more thing I do offer you,”_ ** _ Ray added, and the girls’ head snapped to her. “ _ **_Protection,”_ ** _ she said. _

_ “Protection?” Ruri asked, Ray nodded. _

**_“Thanks to Serena and Yuzu’s memories, I have inferred that my so called ‘father’ had sent Yuri to collect you girls, after all, he went after Yuzu, it is only a matter of time before going after Rin and Ruri.”_ **

_ “Wait...why?” Serena asked. “What would the Professor want?” _

_ Ray sighed.  _ **_“My father had always had this perfected version of me in his head, I wasn’t all he thought I was though. And he certainly doesn’t seem in his right mind, he sent an army of children to destroy an entire dimension, from Serena’s memories, it is to power a machine that would make a Utopia or whatever,”_ ** _ Ray explained with a sigh. _ **_“He will do anything to get what he wants, and you girls are simply tools for him to get me back, he’ll take you, imprison you away, and do anything to keep you by his side until your usefulness ends.”_ **

_ “The fuck!” Rin cried in courage. Ruri looked vaguely like she was about to be sick, tears gathering in the corner of her eyes, Serena looked shocked and Yuzu looked in fear covering her mouth as if to not scream. “No, no, no, no, we can’t let that happen!”  _

_ Ray nodded. “ _ **_If I am going to return, I’m returning on my own terms, not his. I know that control freak; he’ll make sure Zarc won’t return either, meaning Yuri, Yuya, Yugo, and Yuto will be terminated one way or the other.”_ **

_ “What?!” Yuzu screamed.  _

_ Ray nodded. “ _ **_Your boys are the four pieces of Zarc, my father will do everything he could in order to not let him be revived, destroying these boys will be something he wouldn’t hesitate to do.”_ **

_ “No!” Rin said. “I won’t let that happen!” She growled.  _

_ “I can’t lose Yuto...” Ruri said, shaking her head.  _

_ Yuzu hugged herself agreeing with both her counterparts.  _

**_“Do we have a deal then?”_ **

_ “I’ll take it,” Rin said immediately.  _

_ “Are you serious?” Serena asked her.  _

_ “Power, a way to protect me and Yugo and a faster way to become one of the Tops, coming from another version of me, sure, I’ll take my chances with her than being kidnapped by a psycho professor and getting my best friend killed, thank you very much.” _

_ “But he’s not…” _

_ “I’m in too,” Yuzu said. The four other girls looked at Yuzu. “If what you’re saying is true, the war, the professor--” _

_ “It is,” Ruri said.  _

_ “Then Yuya and I are not remotely ready! All we got is tribute summoning, and I was fighting...you called him Yuri? And he got this terrifying Dragon!” _

_ “Starving Venom…” Serena nodded. “He’s ferocious…”  _

_ “I’ll do everything I can to get stronger, but I think I’m out of time, I’ll take the deal,” she said looking determently at Ray.  _

_ Ruri nodded as she came forward. “I will too,” she said. “Heartland is facing an army of heartless monsters led by the professor, if you will take him down, and if it means getting Heartland back to what it used to be then I’m in. This is the only hope we have left.”  _

**_“And you, Serena?”_ **

_ Serena looked away unsure, and Ray stepped towards her, placing a hand under Serena’s chin and gently tipping her head to look at Ray. _

**_“My father will never recognize your power Serena, you are nothing but a sacrifice, a lamb to the slaughter in his eyes. Join me, join us, and gain the recognition you desire from others, no longer be alone, or a princess trapped in a tower.”_ **

_ Serena’s eyes narrowed. “Fine!” She said with a nod. “I’ll take the deal, but...Can you promise me that we won’t just...disappear?”  _

_ Ray smiled. “Yes, I can, I will make sure that the eight of you are not erased.”  _

_ “Then I accept,” Serena said, looking away. _

_ A dark aura surrounded the four girls just like Ray, it became bigger, the girls’ eyes widened as each glowed. Ray smirked.  _

**_“Your tasks are to get Zarc awakened in your boys, however you see fit, you know your boy the best. Do not try to fight your instincts, the one thing we should want most of all, the one mission that must be fulfilled is to awaken Zarc! My desires are your desires, to gain what we all want.”_ **

_ “Yes Lady Ray,” The three girls answered in harmony.  _

_ Ray smirked as more of her powers were divided between the four of them, sharing with them a few of her memories and emotions.  _

**_“Now as for Yuri,”_ ** _ Ray’s smirk widened.  _ **_“I’ll take care of him.”_ ** ****

…

…

…

“Yoohooo~,” Yuri called, getting pretty annoyed as Yuzu had been frozen for a few minutes “ What? Frozen in fear at how my monster will tear the wings off your fairies?”

Yuzu’s deck glowed, making Yuri frown looking at it then at Yuzu again.“...Oh, no, not at all,” Yuzu said in a strange voice making Yuri’s smirk drop and narrow his eyes. “...Yuri was it?” she asked with a voice sugary sweet, the girl that was before him was not the same one that stood here a few seconds ago; this one was not prey in any sense of the word, and his eyes widened at the realization. Everything about the girl seemed to change, her stance, her demeanor, her confident smile, it’s like Yuzu was replaced with an entirely different person in her body and Yuri didn’t understand what that was about. 

Yuri tensed.  _ “What’s going on?” _ Yuri thought to himself. Something about that girl was off. No longer did she feel like a cutesy little princess surrounded by sweet fairies; the look in her eyes made Yuri shiver to his core, and...did their color change or something? It is a feeling he has never felt before, and he wasn’t sure what it was.  _ “Who is she?” _

Ray smirked as she watched Yuri struggle to figure out what to do. She had this in the bag. She looked at Starving Venom and smiled nostalgically at the ferocious dragon, and back to Yuri, different hair, different colored eyes, but she can see her Zarc in him, a side of her Zarc, and like it or not, she was gonna get him back, no matter the cost. But first... she had a dragon to tame

Starving Venom crooned and Yuri’s eyes snapped to his dragon, that was the weirdest reaction that Starving Venom had ever given anyone, usually his dragon would hiss and roar and scratch, spread his wings and whip his tail around to destroy and break anything in his way. Yuri glared at the pink haired girl and placed his hand on his hip, trying to get a better look at the girl before he smirked and chuckled. 

“You seem confident now, you were trembling in your boots just a moment ago? What changed?” Yuri asked, raising his eyebrow with a small mocking smirk. “You’re not gonna just run away are you, or are you expecting back up?”

“Yuzu” shook her head. “None of that,” she said, making Yuri raise an eyebrow in confusion before shrugging with a smile. 

“Fine then,” Yuri said his smirk widened. “If you’re this confident, better make it actually fun, okay princess?” 

“Yuzu” grinned at the challenge and motioned with her finger for Yuri to come at her. 

Yuri smirked confidently back at her. “Once per turn Chimerafflesia can banish a monster with the same level or lower, so say goodbye to your Sonata~” Yuri said activating his monster’s effect and Chimerafflesia vines wrapped around Sonata as a dark hole opened up beneath the monster and swallowed her.

“Yuzu” didn’t look worried in the slightest. It made Yuri a little excited. He's not gonna lie, he’s not expecting much, but he was curious. 

“Predaplant Chimerafflesia attacks you directly!” Yuri declared. 

“I activate my face down card Back to the front and Special Summon Mozart in defense position!” “Yuzu” declared as Motzarta the Melodious the Melodious Mastra, coming back through with a light and a melodic sound as she takes a knee and crosses her arms in defense mode.

Yuri laughed, his shoulder shaking from amusement “Is that all? I still attack!” he declared 

“Yuzu” “I discard Score, the Melodious Diva from my hand reducing you monster’s attack and defense to zero!”

Yuri’s eyes widened as his monster lost its attack points. (2500-)0 ATK) Chimerafflesia vines wrapped around Motzarta before the Melodious monster prided them off of her and made Chimerafflesia back away. 

**(Yuzu/Ray:8000).........................(Yuri:6000)**

Yuri laughed with mirth and clapped. “Good for you, you actually damaged me,” he said with a mocking smirk before placing his hand on his hip. “That’s more that I thought you could actually do.” 

“Yuzu”laughed. “I’m guessing you’re not used to having a challenge are you?” she asked. 

“Hm,” Yuri huffed in amusement. “Starving Venom, destroy the annoying fairy,” Yuri said in an almost bored tone.

Starving Venom roared as he attacked Mozarta and destroyed her easily. “I end my turn,” Yuri said with a smug smirk. 

“Yuzu” smiled. “My turn,” she said and drew her card before flipping it in her hand to show it to Yuri. “I activate the spell card Card of Sanctity, now both of us will have to draw until we get six cards in our hands.” 

Yuri raised his eyebrow. “That’s quite the gamble isn’t it? After all, you might have gotten a new hand, but so did _ I _ .”

“Oh I know, trust me,” “Yuzu” said with a confident smile “You’ll need these cards.” 

Yuri frowned before Starving Venom wrapped his tail around him protectively making Yuri blink and raise his eyebrow at his dragon, Starving Venom like Yuri had always reviled in destruction, chasing the pray and putting fear in their hearts, seeing them tremble and cry always made them both excited, the way Starving Venom was acting now was strange, and a part of him, a small spot in his heart felt something familiar stir, what was this feeling? 

Both Yuri and “Yuzu” drew cards until there was 6 cards in their hands. 

“Since I have no monsters on the field I can Special Summon Rowena The Sovereign Siren from my hand.”

“Yuzu” showed a card in her hand before summoning her to the field, the monster appeared twirling around before standing in front of “Yuzu” with a smirk, and half laid eyes before her grin widened and got a mischievous look as her gaze was placed on Starving Venom. 

The monster was a woman with curly maroon hair and black eyeliner, wearing a shimmering gold strapless bikini top, and a short skirt with black seashells embroidered on it, golden cuffs and leg cuff around her right leg, with a golden tattoo running down her waist and three silver scales running down her right arm (1500 ATK) 

Yuri had to blink a few times “W-what are these monsters?” Yuri asked. 

“They’re Sirens,” “Yuzu” answered with a small chuckle. 

“Sirens?” he asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion, blinking. Did Yuzu change her deck all of a sudden? No, it couldn’t be possible, he never saw her change a single card in her deck, how did these monsters get in it? And where did she get them?

A feeling of unease washed over Yuri, what was happening? Through four days he had watched this girl, and it’s like she was replaced with someone else again… what was happening? 

“Hmm… interesting, okay, I’ll bite,” Yuri said with a smirk crossing his arms. “What do these...Sirens do?” 

“Yuzu” chuckled. “You can bite, just don’t poison me,” she said with a confident smile startling Yuri for a second. “Well Yuri, you’re pretty familiar with Counters correct? You use them pretty well after all.” 

“Sure I am, so this is gonna be a mirror duel then? Isn’t that a little boring?”

“What like fighting only fusion based decks isn’t?” “Yuzu” asked raising his eyebrow

“... Touche,” he said with a smirk and a shrug before he realized that this girl probably shouldn’t know a thing about fusion, she certainly was more dangerous than she seemed. Yuri prepared himself. 

“Now then,” “Yuzu” winked and extended her hand. “It’s showtime!” she said it in such a grand way that Yuri had to look around to make sure there wasn’t an actual crowd watching them. He went to great pains disabling whatever security cameras around, which begs the question  _ Why were there security cameras around and why so  _ **_many_ ** _? _ It made Yuri’s job of stalking and capturing Yuzu inconspicuously a lot harder!

“Since Rowena was Special Summoned I get to take one Siren Monster from my deck to my hand and I choose Adriana  _ The Sovereign Siren,” _ “Yuzu” explained, showing Yuri the card.

Yuri tilted his head with an amused smirk, hand on his chin and nodded as if he was listening to a lecture and he acted as if he’s in complete agreement with the professor when he wasn’t in any way impressed. 

“Next since I have a Siren Monster on the field I can Special Summon Vallanthria The Sovereign Siren in defense mode”

A monster rose with her eyes closed and her face looking to the side her wrists crossed in the air as if posing for someone. She also had curly dark aquamarine hair and her attire consisted of a backless mermaid dress. Dark green marks down her face, and three scales on her wrist, wearing a white pearl necklace and earrings, before she took a knee and crossed her arms in a defense position, and opening her eyes looking at the field through her lashes before smirking smugly (1200 DEF)

“Since she was Special Summoned,” “Yuzu” continued. “I can target one Face-up monster on the field and place a Siren Counter on them and I choose Starving Venom.” 

Vallanthria opened her lips before a melodic sound came out of it and sound waves were sent towards Starving Venom. The dragon roared annoyed, but he wasn’t angry, Yuri felt like he was really missing something. What was happening?!

“So did that remotely do anything?” Yuri asked, narrowing his eyes in confusion. 

“Not particularly, your monsters aren’t affected by the counters. Well not  _ immediately _ .”

“So what’s the point of them then? I can still fuse them however I want and use their effects.” 

“Correct, but trust me, you’ll see the effects of my Sirens’ songs soon enough,” “Yuzu” said with a smirk. Yuri matched it crossing his arms ready for the amusement. 

“Next I summon Diantha the The Sovereign Siren,” “Yuzu” said, placing a Third monster on the field. The third monster appeared on the field before running a hand through her hair she was a woman with sea green hair that reaches her back, and blue eyes with three silver scales running down her face, her lower lips colored blue, with a light green tattoo running down her right shoulder ending in a spiral shape, she wore a backless dress that was slitted high showing her legs(1300 ATK)

“I activate Daiantha’s effect, in my main phase I can reveal a Spell Card in my hand and place a Siren Counter on one of your monsters, and the second counter goes to your Predaplant Chimerafflesia.” 

“Yuzu” showed a spell card in her hand it had on it three siren monsters kneeling on the ground, they looked beaten up and weakened, with scratches over their bodies, and bruises as they stand to face D/D/D Cursed King Sigfried, the three of them seemed to be singing, and like Vallanthria before her Diantha opened her lips and a melodic sound came, with sound waves heading towards Predaplant Chimerafflesia, placing a counter on it. 

“Now then,” “Yuzu” declared. “First I tune my Level 3 Siren Rowena and my Level 4 Siren Vallanthria together.”

“Tune?” Yuri asked, eyes wide, “Hold on, you’re…you’re…!”

“Synchro Summoning that’s correct!” “Yuzu” said. “Ready girls?”

**(*4 + *3 = *7)**

“Soar agents of entropy and by your shrieks give birth to your Lady of Chaos Synchro Summon Level 7! Descend Eris The Chaos Countess Siren “

Two of the Siren flew in the air with Rowena turning into three green circles and Vallanthria turned into four stars before a new monster descended from a shining light 

A woman with wite hair and cyan colored locks floated down, with a golden caller around her neck and golden apple dangling from it, wearing a strapless light blue dress, with a slit from both sides, with black tattoo circling above her knee, two golden cuffs around her arms, and three silver scales on her shoulder, she tilted her head with a confident smile (2500 ATK) 

“And I’m not done yet!” “Yuzu” said “Lets use a card you’re quite familiar with shall we?” she said showing a Polymerization card in her hand, Yuri’s eyes widened more: Synchro  _ and  _ Fusion _?  _ Just who was this girl? 

“I fuse Diantha the Sovereign Siren with Hellena the Sovereign Siren!” “Yuzu” said as she imitated Yuri’s previous actions and clasped her hands together as a fusion portal opened behind her 

“Two hypnotic monsters singing a melody of obedience, become one and give birth to a lethal song of destruction soaring above us all! Fusion Summon Level 7! Come to the field Circe The Graceful Countess Siren!”

From the portal came another monster, she was a woman with white long straight hair, paled turquoise lips, a tube top and a short skirt with the same color and a sash falling down from the back of her skirt, with three scales down her waist, with blue tattoo lines descend down her legs once again ending in a spiral shape. (1500 ATK) 

Wind ran through the streets rustling Yuri and “Yuzu’s” clothes. The purple haired boy stood there for a few minutes looking at both of the new monsters who seemed amused, grinning sharply showing a hint of deadly teeth as they stared directly at Starving Venom, before the fusion one...Circe’s eyes slid to him, and widened with mirth. 

“And since I used Hellena the Sovereignty Siren in a fusion I get to return a Polymerization card to my hand,” “Yuzu” said, taking the Polymerization card into her hand and showing it to Yuri.

Yuri’s finally smirked. “Interesting monsters you have there, using more than one summoning method is quite the feat, and I’ll be honest, I didn’t actually expect much, this is way more fun than I had hoped for.”

“Yuzu” bowed “Ow, thank you, that’s quite the compliment,” she said sarcastically, making Yuri chuckle. 

“Alright, so what else does your monster do? because Circe sure is weak for a level seven monster.”

“Yuzu’s” smirk widened. “Circe effect activates, she can attack the opponent directly, and for every monster with a Siren Counter on the field, she gets to attack once more!”

“What?!” Yuri yelled in surprise before his eyes widened as Circe spread her arms wide and slouched letting out a shriek before the scales around her waist spread, her skin turned gray her teeth became far sharper, her nails grew exponentially, her clothes seemed to melt over her body as grey scales covered her breasts and down her legs, leather wings grew from her arms her irises were gone. 

Yuri’s jaw dropped at the monster’s transformation as Circe leaped up and spun in the air before flying down straight at him like, Starving Venom roared but couldn’t do anything as Circe’s claws scratched Yuri once before Yuri’s other two monsters glowed with an aura that Circe seemed to absorb. She smirked once more and Striked Yuri twice more. 

**(Yuzu/Ray:8000).........................(Yuri:1500)**

Circe leaped up and spun in the air before gracefully landed back in front of “Yuzu” before transforming back to her other form before playfully sending a kiss to Yuri. Making the young boy blink. 

“Now Eris, attack Predaplant Chimerafflesia!” “Yuzu” yelled. The same transformation happened to Eris as well, turning into a monster as she attacked flying in the air her claws extended. 

“Predaplant Chimerafflesia’s effect activates!” Yuri yelled “When I have this monster engaged in an attack I can raise its attack by a 1000 while decreasing the attacking monster by the same amount!”

“I activate Eris’ effect, Once per turn I can discard one card from my hand and any monster with a Siren counter gets their effects negated until the end of this turn!” “Yuzu” said, sending one card from her hand to the graveyard. Eris opened her lips and shrieked, sending sound waves towards Yuri’s monster, making it slouch as she descended down. Both monsters got destroyed. 

“Well that was pretty stupid, negating effects is pretty powerful, getting rid of this Siren does not bode well for you,” Yuri said still looking confident and at ease as ever. He still had Starving Venom on the field 

“Yuzu” shrugged. “Since Eris was destroyed in battle I get to return one monster that was used to summon her but her effects would be negated, so come back Vallanthria the Sovigent siren. 

Valanthria came back and knelt down before stretching her arms as if waking up from a nap, then crossing them, and looking back at the field in amusement. 

“Why not get the tuner back?” Yuri asked, thinking there was a possibility of another Synchro summon. “Yuzu” shrugged. 

“I end my turn,” “Yuzu” said. 

“And I take my Predaplant fusion card back since my monster was destroyed,” Yuri said, taking Predafusion from the graveyard. 

Yuri raised his eyebrow looking at the field and back and “Yuzu”. The girl was practically defenseless, with only one weak monster on the field. He could just copy Circe’s effects with Starving Venom and attack her twice, it wouldn’t kill her but it would lower her life points considerably, and given that he has a trap card that could stop the Siren in her tracks, but… that just might not do… Yuri didn’t know what these Sirens were capable of, and he should try to end her then and there and get her back to the Professor, he was sure he’ll be quite surprised at what Yuri learned about “Yuzu” she was no ordinary girl that’s for sure. 

“Alright then, my turn! I draw!” Yuri declared drawing a card and smirking. “First I play the Spell card Predaponics!”

“This card allows me to special Summon a Predaplant Predaplant monster but their effects are negated, so I choose Predaplant Squid Drosera!” 

It looked like a shrub with eyes on it’s small bark and leaves that were green on one side and red on the other side and it made it look like it has several half jaws with sharp teeth (800 ATK) 

“Next I  plays the spell card Predapractice which allows me to Special Summon another monster from my hand and get one Predaplant Card to my hand but I can’t special Summon from the extra deck except Fusion monsters.”

“So no hindrance at all is it?” “Yuzu” said with a shrug and Yuri chuckled 

“Right, so I take Predafusion to my hand,” Yuri said grabbing the card and showing it to “Yuzu” 

“Then I activate Flytrap’s ability and Place a counter so let's go with hmm… ah Vallanthria,” Yuri said after pretending to think for a while. “Yuzu” raised an amused eyebrow while Vallanthria seemed annoyed as she looked at the counter on her chest and seemed to slouch a bit with a sigh

“Next I summoned Predaplant Spinodionaea in attack mode. And with three monsters on the field I can summon one of my most ferocious monsters!”

With a manic grin Yuri activated his spell card. 

“Dark flowers blooming with poisonous thorns growing become one and unleash a three headed terror, let your poisonous fangs seep into the blood of the enemies Fusion Summon Level 9  Predaplant Triphyoverutum.” 

From the portal descended a monster that gave a deafening roar with three heads like a green hydra, its wings spread with a red flower on each side and from its tail thorns grew. (3000 ATK)

“Now I activate Starving Venom’s effect!” Yuri said and Starving Venom roared. “Once per turn I can target one level 5 or higher monster on the field and make its name Starving Venom’s original name and have its effect and you bet I choose your Circe to copy. And wasn’t her effect that she can attack once more for each Siren Counter? Starving Venom still has his after all~ Go Starving Venom, attack directly!”

Starving Venom screeched and flew at “Yuzu” directly.

“I activate Adriana the Sovereignty Siren’s effect!” ‘Yuzu” said, showing the monster card she got from summoning Diantha. “If a monster is about to attack me directly I can special Summon her from my hand, target one Face up monster on the field and give him a Siren Counter, then make you skip your battle phase.” “Yuzu” explained as she Special Summoned another Siren from her hand in defense mode it was a girl with long white hair held up in a high ponytail that reaches down the small of her back with a golden choker tied to a pink fabric, covering her breasts leaving her chest revealed a bit, a golden ring around her waist keeping the fabric together, with a short light pink skirt.

Starving Venom stopped in his tracks and hissed at the newly summoned monster, Adriana just smiled smugly before patting Starving Venom, who flinched back from her touch in annoyance. 

“Adriana places a counter on your  Predaplant Triphyoverutum,” “Yuzu” said and Adriana let out another melody giving Predaplant Triphyoverutum a counter.

“I place a card face down, and end my turn,” Yuri said. 

“Yuzu” tisked. “That’s twice you fell for the same trick. I’m guessing fighting the same deck type makes a duel lack any surprises doesn’t it.”

Yuri laughed “ Oh, you have no idea, the times Starving Venom crushed Gear Golems. Every duel is just the same.”

“Today must have been a pleasant surprise then,” “Yuzu” said. 

“You know, not gonna lie, this you, whoever she is, is the biggest fun I’ve had in awhile.”

“I’ll remember that, don’t think you’re safe, this duel isn’t done.”

Yuri smirked. “We’ll see about that.” 

“My turn, I draw!” “Yuzu” said, drawing her card and looking at it before smiling, Yuri tilted his head a bit. 

“First I sacrifice Vallanthria to summon  Rainara The Sovereign Siren,”

A woman with white hair and pink streaks, and celeste colored eyes, wearing a black strapless dress that reached her knees, with red outlines, with black pearl earrings, and three scales on the back of her knee, red eyeliner, and black nails (2000 ATK)

“Now every Monster with two or more Siren Counters is Considered a Siren Monster, once per turn I can take control of a monster with a Siren Counter on them and have control over them, but their effects are negated and they can’t attack,” “Yuzu” explained. 

“Take control of a monster?” Yuri’s eyes widened, a small hint of fear carrying in them.

“I think I’ll take control of… your Predaplant  Triphyoverutum!” “Yuzu” declared. 

Yuri’s eyes widened as  Predaplant  Triphyoverutum! roared through its three heads as Rainanra extended her hand and closed her fingers slowly as if she’s pulling the monster in and bringing it to her side.

“Now, since you took me seriously by summoning one of your biggest monsters and not just relying on Starving Venom’s effect I think I’ll do you the same curtsy,” “Yuzu” said with a smile. 

“Hold on, you knew what Starving Venom’s effect was?” Yuri asked.

“Yuzu” smiled darkly. “With your extra deck monster and my two Sirens I fusion Summon one of my strongest monsters!” 

“You’re gonna use  _ my  _ monster for a fusion summon? It only has one counter, it can’t be considered a Siren,” Yuri said, considering all the other monsters required, specifically a siren monster. 

“The conditions are met, one extra deck monster and two Sirens,” “Yuzu” said and Yuri’s eyes widened as she played polymerization and got rid of one of his strongest monsters so easily. 

“A melody of sounds becomes a  crescendo of shrieks at your wake. Rise from your throne to tear through your enemies! Fusion Summon! Level 10! Grace us, Lilith The Supreme Monarch Siren!” 

From the fusion portal came a new monster,  A woman with royal blue hair and purple streaks along with pale skin, with blue lipstick, along with blue smokey eyeshadow, with a colorful shimmering bikini top dress with a slit skirt that’s just as colorful, shimmering the blues, pinks and whites, that reveals her legs, with a built of sea shells wrapped around her waist under both her knees are three scales with one atop of two others, with a ring of sea shells around her leg. Sha landed beside Circe gracefully, running her hand through her lucks and smiling a sultry smile looking at the field through her lashes (3000 ATK)

“Lilith’s effect activates,” “Yuzu” said. “For every monster on the field with a Siren Counter she gets an extra 300 ATK points, and as you told me, Starving Venom still has a counter on him.” (3000-3300 ATK) 

Yuri glanced at Starving Venom before narrowing his eyes at “Yuzu.”

“Yuzu” was still smiling confidently. “Go, Circe, attack him directly!” 

“I activate the trap card Shadow Spell! Now your monster can’t attack and she loses 700 ATK Points!”

From the trap card several chains spready wrapping Circe in them making the Siren shriek and try to get out of the binds.

“Lilith! Attack starving Venom!” “Yuzu” yelled and Lilith’s smiled transformed into a sharp smirk as her body like Circe before her transformed she flew towards Starving Venom and scratched him with her claws destroying him 

**(Yuzu/Ray:8000).........................(Yuri:1000)**

“Starving Venom’s effect activates! When--”

“When he is destroyed then all of my special Summoned monsters are destroyed,” “Yuzu” said, smirking like one of her Sirens. “However, Lilith is not affected by card effects, only Circe goes.”

The phantom tail of Starving Venom appeared and passed through Lilith without harm, but destroyed Circe in the process.

“You… You knew Starving Venom’s effect? How?! Who are you?”

“Yuzu” laughed. “All in good time, Yuri, don’t worry, everything will be clear soon enough.”

Yuri growled before he calmed himself down and smirked at “Yuzu” before laughing. “I can’t actually believe it, you’ve managed to take so much of my life points down all on your own, really you do deserve praise, you have impressed me, but it’s time for you to fall!” Yuri declared and drew a card before he grinded and laughed. 

“First I use  Cortecepts Special ability from the graveyard and banish it to summon back to the field Predaplant Spinodionaea,” the lizard plant came back with a roar and it snapped its mouth at “Yuzu” (1800 ATK)

“And  Predaplant Clamydusenduw,” the plant monster rose from the graveyard, (600 ATK)

“Next I use  the Spell Card predaponics and Special Summons from the graveyard Predaplant Flytrap, but its effect is negated.” (400 ATK)

“I use  Predaplant Clamydusenduw ability and Fusion Summons  Predaplant Triphyoverutum once more!”

“Dark flowers blooming with poisonous thorns growing become one and unleash a three headed terror, let your poisonous fangs seep into the blood of the enemies Fusion Summon Level 9  Predaplant Triphyoverutum.” 

“A standstill then?” “Yuzu” asked and Yuri chuckled. “Oh, not at all~” Yuri said with a manic grin on his face, “I activate the spell card Predapruning!” Yuri called showing a spell card with Predaplant  Squid Drosera surrounded by its side by an electric metal fence.

“This allows me to Special Summons a “predaplant Monster and Equip this card to that monster and I Predaplant Triphyoverutum!” 

“Predaplant Triphyoverutum one, attack Lilith!”

“I activate Lilith’s effect, once per turn if she is targeted for an attack I can Special Summon a monster from my extra deck and transfer that attack to them, but their effect is negated!” 

Yuri laughed “Predaplant Triphyoverutum effect activates! Once per turn if you’re Special Summoning a Monster from the Extra deck, I can negate the Summon and Destroy that monster.

“Yuzu’s” eyes widened as the Siren she was about to summon was destroyed and sent to the graveyard instead. 

Yuri laughed “Go! Predaplant Triphyoverutum destroy Lilith!” Yuri commanded and with a roar the three headed monster attacked the Monarch Siren only to have the Siren herself fly up in rage, her claws extended as both monsters were destroyed. 

“Now my second Predaplant Triphyoverutum attacks you directly!” 

“Yuzu’s” eyes widened as the monster’s thorn filled tails attempted to strike her, making her fly back and clutch her chest where she was hit. 

**(Yuzu/Ray:5000).........................(Yuri:1000)**

“I end my turn, and you’re not waking up from this nightmare, princess.”

“Yuzu” was looking down, her shoulders shaking, Yuri thought she was sobbing. “Oh, what’s the matter? And you were acting so mighty before, did you break that easily?”

The shaking continued before a loud laugh came as “Yuzu” threw her head back and laughed harder. Yuri blinked in bewilderment as “Yuzu” clapped. 

“Solid plan you got there, with that monster around I can’t summon a monster from the extra deck, and I don’t exactly have anything in my hand to perform any a second summon.”

“So why are you laughing?” Yuri asked glaring. 

“Yuzu” closed her eyes before she drew her last card and looked at it from the corner of her eyes  _ “Here it is,” _ she thought.

“A mirror duel it truly was,” “Yuzu” said “I activate the spell card Siren Selection!"It was an equip spell card that  had a staff with a pear impeded in it standing on the ground as a hand of a transformed Siren takes it.

"This allows me to target one Siren Monster in my graveyard and Special Summon her, equip her with this card. And do you know the Siren I’m bringing back?”

Yuri frowned, usually duelists would get their biggest monsters back when they have something like Monster Reborn or call of the haunted, but if "Yuzu" was going to do that then she would summon Lilith and be at a stand still...unless…

Yuri's eyes widened. "No…" 

"Rise once more, Circe The Graceful Countess Siren!"

(1500 ATK) The Siren seemed far too pleased with rising again, placing her hand on her hip, as she looks predatorly at Yuri's monster.

"Damn it!" He had nothing to stop this monster from attacking him directly now, this...this duel was over?!

"Go Circe! Attack him directly!" "Yuzu" commanded and Circe once more showed her monstrous form as she flew over Predaplant Triphyoverutum and hit Yuri with her claws making him fly back and hit the ground.

**(Yuzu/Ray:5000).........................(Yuri:0)**

Yuri’s head snapped to Yuzu, teeth gritting and about to shout at her before he froze as she walked calmly towards him with a smirk on her face, a dark aura surrounding her, making Yuri wary and unsure of what to do. The Professor never warned him about something like this, or that the girls can do that… Can all of them do that? Can Serena? If so, then why didn’t she use it before? But he knew something was off, whoever this girl was, she was not the same girl he started the duel with. And he wasn’t sure how that happened. What were these monsters she used? Where did they come from? He’d just...lost… for the first time in his life he lost! He wasn’t sure if he wanted to scream or laugh.

Yuzu came closer and Yuri found himself unable to move. The pink haired girl placed her palm under his chin, making Yuri’s eyes widen and flinch back, he felt his face heat up and a blush coloring them as he looked at her.

“W...what are you?” Yuri whispered the dark aura still surrounding her, making him shiver.

“Yuzu’s” placed her hand on Yuri’s cheek and began to caress it. This gesture should have annoyed Yuri, he should have broken her hand just for touching him...but he couldn’t help but crave her touch, his eyes widened at the realization. He shivered again, part of him wanted to get away from this girl, run or fight he didn’t care he just wanted to leave, the other part however wanted to stay, wanted to be around her more, he craved this simple touch from her, it made his heart beat quickly in his chest. This was...affection, kindness...love. It made him more afraid, and fear was never something that came to Yuri easily, but it also excited him. 

“Didn’t that feel good, lily?” “Yuzu” asked.

“L...Lily?” Yuri could have sworn his voice cracked. Yeah he learned that his name could be translated as that flower, but no one has ever actually called him that...or at least no one ever called him like that without making it an insult… well, before he had crushed whoever had dared say it to the ground with his monsters “You’re not...you’re not Yuzu Hiragi are you?”

“Yuzu”, or whoever this girl was smiled at him gently and shook her head. “Well no, I certainly am not her. Well,  _ not only her, _ ” her voice had an eerie echo to it. 

“...What do you want?” Yuri asked, not sure how to react to her at all. He never ever faced this type of scenario before.

“I want much,” she answered with a smirk. “I want revenge, control, to rule once more, but most of all I wish for me and my beloved to return whole once more.”

“Whole?” Yuri asked, narrowing his eyes. 

Her grin widened. “From what I gathered, me and my beloved have been split into four parts; each part is in each of the new dimensions that were created. I wish to gather us all to be one again.”

Yuri paused as he recalled the Professor showing him the four girls: Serena, Yuzu and the other two from Synchro and Xyz. All of them together, needed for a sole purpose...

Is… is that what the Professor is trying to do? Gather these girls for something. 

“And where do I fit in?” Yuri paused, remembering Yuzu had said her and her ‘beloved’ had been split into four, with Yuya having the same face as him did that mean…

“Am I… him then?” Yuri asked, skeptically narrowing his eyes. 

She giggled and it was quite strange to Yuri. It wasn’t sarcastic, and it wasn’t cruel, yet Yuri felt his heart hammering in his chest and his face heating again. He had never felt like that before.

“Clever boy,” the girl whispered, placing a soft kiss on Yuri’s cheek, making him flinch back, Yuri hated how much weakness he was showing, he was never like this! One lost duel just reduced him to… to this? Yuri glared at the girl with hatred, but he found he couldn’t keep the anger up the more he looked at her. “You are,” she answered sincerely. “The one that holds the sadistic side of my beloved, wanting to unleash bloodshed upon the masses and laughing at how the prey is unable to do anything except watch, wide-eyed in terror as he devours them whole.”

There was no venom in her words, no disgust or fear, just pride and amusement. Yuri’s breath hitched. “And what if I don’t want to become ‘whole’ as you put it? Maybe I don’t want to become someone else. Are you supposed to be my prize or something?”

The girl giggled again, before her dark aura extended to Yuri, making his eyes widen and gasp once more. His face turned a darker shade of red. “If you join me, and help me become whole then I shall give you what you desire. Power. You will have more power than you can ever imagine,” she whispered huskily, as she wrapped her arms loosely around his neck. “I remember and adore you, every part of the true you,” she purred. “A king with one equal. Me by your side. And I helped you rule over the world of these corrupt human filth, who wanted nothing more than to see the arena covered in blood. They wanted violence so we gave it. Violence on them, so they knew what it was meant to be inflicted with such pain, so that they would learn to regret their monstrous desires.

“You want that don’t you? The power, the destruction, the thrill of the hunt. It’s all in those pretty eyes, Yuri.”

“P...pretty?” Yuri stammered. No one ever called him pretty. And he had never cared before, what was this girl doing to him?

Her smile widened again. “Very pretty, such fierce dragon eyes you have.”

Yuri’s eyes widened, his pupils briefly shifting into reptilian slits.

“That’s it,” she said, placing a kiss on Yuri’s cheek, making a shiver run down Yuri’s back. “Be mine, be whole, bring my beloved back to life. Supreme Dragon King Zarc.” 

Yuri’s eyes widened more, his eyes glowing a pink glow, as he felt a fog surround his mind, making him feel lighter, filling him with a desire, a need, something beyond Yuri’s reach was guiding him, powerful and it felt so good to listen. He heard Starving Venom roar in approval and scratch loudly, feeling the strange power inside him increase. “Yuzu” giggled. “Yes, Starving Venom, we shall return soon,” she purred happily. 

“...You can... hear him too?” Yuri asked softly. “Yuzu” nodded. 

“I hear him, loud and clear. He wants to be with his brothers once more, to reunite as one, be with his Master. Odd-Eyes, Dark Rebellion, Clear Wing. They will be one once more.”

Yuri closed his still glowing eyes, briefly seeing a red dragon with dichromatic eyes, a dark dragon that flew among thunder filled clouds and a silver dragon with clear wings. Yes, he wanted them, wanted them more than whatever the Professor gave him. To be whole, together,  **_Reunite as one_ ** . “Reunite as one…”

“So what do you say?” She whispered. “Be ours, and you’ll feel whole once more, gain powers, be given affection. Are you ours now, Yuri? Are you mine?” 

“Yours?” And in a distant memory, he saw another girl with the same face, but different hair and eyes from the four that the professor had shown him. Older, confident, red hair streaked with black like blood and shadows. And a part of him reached out for her, wanting her. 

Ray smirked looking at the unfocused golden eyes that had replaced Yuri’s for a moment.

“Yes,” he finally whispered with a soft smile on his face. He bowed his head as he added, “I’ll be yours …Lady Ray.” 

Ray smiled, before leaning in and sealing this contract with a kiss on his lips, making Yuri’s eyes glow once more. Power, pure power washed over his body mixing with the dark powers beneath his skin, and he felt a desire, a need to make Lady Ray happy.

Ray broke the kiss and Yuri pouted, wanting more, he felt light yet grounded in place as darkness rose inside. Ray caressed his cheek lovingly and Yuri leaned to it without a second thought. “Go on now, back to your dimension. Be by Serena’s side, and she’ll be by yours.” 

“Serena…” Yuri whispered, recalling the girl in the red jacket and yellow ribbon to tie her hair up.

“Prepare her for the day that she will come to this dimension. She will, she is quite angry, I can feel it. She knows that truth now that I am awake, and she will want more than ever to leave and rebel against the so-called man who she has put her whole focus on trying to please.”

Yuri smirked, his grin was manic and it made Ray smile. Yuri bowed, his hand placed over his heart. “As you wish, my Lady.” 

“Get going. Make up any excuse you can to that professor of yours. And keep this a secret between us.” She placed a finger onto his lips to silence him. “It’s our little secret.”

Yuri smirked tilting his head a little. “Of course, my Lady.” 

Yuri’s shoulders relaxed as the aora disappeared, He activated his Duel Disk and was surrounded by blue light before he transformed into glittering sparkles, returning him to his home. Ray chuckled, knowing that with Yuri now on her side, things will go a lot smoother. 

“Yuzu! Yuzu!!!” 

Ray heard the name being called by that familiar voice and saw Yuya along with Gongenzaka round a corner. She smiled, yes, she could see Zarc’s kindness and desire to entertain people just by seeing into Yuya’s pretty crimson eyes. She couldn’t wait to bring up that side of Zarc within this boy, make him smile at the fun he will bring to the wicked and nasty humans who might try to usurp their reign.

“Yuzu! Are you okay?” asked Yuya.

Ray returned the control fully to Yuzu, and the pink haired girl smiled at Yuya and Gongenzaka. “Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?” she asked, crossing her arms. 

“I don’t know it just… I felt something strange… I couldn’t understand what, but I just knew it was about you and I had to know if you were okay,” Yuya tried to explain, not sure what the feeling he got was about. 

Yuzu’s eyes softened even more, he was quite adorable and sweet, and she knew she shouldn’t be as frustrated with him as she has been, at least she knew why she was on edge so much for the past few days, and she knew she had a lot to think about, especially when it came to what she just learned.

“I’ll see you guys tomorrow okay?” Yuzu asked with a soft smile. 

“O-okay but…”

“Hm?” Yuzu asked. 

Yuya looked down. “Never mind,” he said, shaking his head.

“Okay,” Yuzu nodded. The three of them parted ways and said goodbye to each other. Yuzu let out a breath as she entered the house. 

“I’m home!” Yuzu called, smelling her father’s homemade cooking. Her father usually cooked to save money for the bills and to keep You Show Duel School running. Tonight he was making his signature croquettes: pumpkin, curry and cream crab. 

“Welcome home Yuzu!” Shuzo said from the kitchen. “Can you help me set the table?” 

“Sure thing,” she said and began to set the table and get ready for dinner. 

…

…

...

Yuzu finished cleaning the dishes and took a bath an hour after dinner. Then, after hanging the towel, she slipped into some light pink pajamas, turned off the lights, and laid on the bed. 

Her eyes faded, the only sound in that room was the soft ticktockticktock of her alarm clock. She didn’t know how long it would be until she blinked and found herself standing in a spacious room. The walls were painted blue, decorated with crystal flowers made of ice, an open golden cage with a few birds in it singing their songs in one corner of the room, as the moon outside glowed. There were flowers growing in this room…

The three girls from before, Rin, Ruri and Serena each sat at the table, Ruri and Serena seemed to be having an argument while Rin seemed to be looking in rapid attention as she rested her chin on her hand. 

The argument seemed to stop as she came closer, a dark aura surrounded all of them once more. 

Finally Ray walked in. 

“Shall we begin?” She asked with a smirk. 


	2. Song of Despair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys we're back. so as usual a few notes. 
> 
> We started writing this story as a way of making the girls kick start the plot and not just be passive spectators or brainwashed minions as usual, we wanted to do something else with the story and this seemed like a good idea. Making Ray evil. We didn't make Zarc the good one in this because if we did it would have basically been Arc-V gender bend, so we did something a bit new. 
> 
> GPQ would like to say that Ray is basically now Lady Macbeth and I did not read the play at all so I can't disagree with her. 
> 
> We wanted to showcase and write the girls as the center of the story because it doesn't usually happen and even we focus on the boys too much. 
> 
> with that said another note is GPQ is starting her semester and I'm starting my finals soon, so we won't be writing anything. I'm taking a break and she would be working on her own story. 
> 
> We hope you enjoy this. See you guys in actually few months.
> 
> Edited on 29/08/2020

The scenery had changed from the endless dark void, and for that all four girls were grateful. The five of them were in a garden at night, the full moon above, and the stars sparkling, their light was shining down on them. Beneath their feet, the grace was green and lush, and roses spread behind trees, pink, purple some seemed made of crystals that when a gleam of light hit them, a rainbow of colors would reflect from them. Around them, snow fell that never seemed to touch the ground and kept eternally falling. Colorful birds twittered and flew around alongside small giggling balls of lights flying around like fairies. 

The girls sat around in a circle looking around at the place with wonder, Ray sitting with them. “What now then?” Serena asked, trying to hatch a coherent plan, and still getting over all that she had learned about the war in Heartland. The Professor had promised them all glory, he said that he had sent the troops into Heartland to fight other duelists and show the power of Academia giving them all the death of a soldier and the glory of war. She had no idea that the students were carding innocent people who had no way to fight them. It made her sick, angry at the lies, and the pain that others had inflicted on so many people in the Xy- in Heartland. 

She didn’t want to believe it at first, but Lady Ray had proved Ruri’s story. She had given Serena, Rin, and Yuzu glimpses of Ruri’s memories, the state that heartland had crumbled to; the innocents huddling in hideaways or broken homes, barely any food or water to survive, while Academia was filled with food and luxuries. It made Serena want to spit in Professor Akaba’s face for all that he had done for all the lies he had told. Even if a part of her wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt; he had been the closest thing to a father she had, but to him, she was nothing but a piece of a puzzle, and as soon as he collected them all, he would sacrifice them without a second thought or guilt. Everything was expandable to him if it meant getting what he wanted. She was nothing important, pain and anger rose inside her, determined to take the man down, to show her strength like Ray had promised her. 

“You have to awaken Zarc inside the four boys, I will help as best as I can, in moments of vulnerability there will be a chance for the two of us to reach each other, but the best way is for them to tap into that power,” Ray answered. “Yuri’s already on our side, he's filled with bloodlust and viciousness, just like his dragon. It wasn’t hard to let the power in him awaken.” 

Yuzu said, her hands balled into fists over her knees “Yuri was terrifying, and I wouldn’t have lasted three turns with him. He was everything Yuya isn’t. Yuya is filled with innocence, he loves to entertain, and make a spectacle out of everything," she said before looking at Ray. “If they are really made from the same person then why are they so different.”

Ray smiled and sighed, before nodding to the three other girls. “Look around you Yuzu, you four are made from my soul as well, and yet have different personalities. You have a few things in common that were originally from me, but ultimately you’re all your own people, one of you can’t simply replace the other, you’ve all lived different lives, loved different people. The four boys are not any different, are they? Rin, Ruri, what are Yugo and Yuto like?” 

“Yugo is…” Rin started “He’s like the wind,” she said with a fond smile on her face. “Without care, without fear, dashing to his next destination. He’s stubborn and bull-headed, but he’s also very sweet and gentle, he will get excited at so many things like a child and will speed off on his D-wheel to help me if he has to. He is reckless and quick to anger too, nothing will stop him when he puts his mind to it.”

Ruri smiled, “Yuto is like the night sky. He is not cruel by any means, he can be so sweet, usually is the voice of reason, he is strong and quick-witted, destructive when he wants to be, but acts like a chivalrous knight, stubborn too” she explained and Ray nodded.

“Stubborn, fun-loving, an entertainer, likes to make a spectacle out of everything, powerful and can be destructive and a mess of a human being,” Ray looked wistfully at the moon. “My best friend, my closest companion, the boy I love,” she chuckled. “See? Each boy holds parts of Zarc, but each part isn’t simply a missing piece or an incomplete being. That is exactly how my father feels about all of you.”

The four of them looked away, Ruri and Yuzu in worry and sadness, Rin in disgust and Serena in anger and pain.

“So what? We make the boys vulnerable? How? We can’t hurt them?” Ruri said worriedly. 

“Being vulnerable doesn't mean hurting them. I know none of you wants to do that to your boys. None of you wants to see them harmed or in pain, and I certainly don’t want to see that. That’s not what I’m asking. Get closer to them, let them be emotionally open with you, make them open up further, encourage them to tap further into what is theirs. Each boy is different, and you know them best, ” Ray explained. 

“What about me?” Serena asked. “Yuri is already on our side. What am I supposed to do? I don’t know Yuri, I’ve never met him, not really, I don’t even know if I’d like him. All of you have these special memories with, I just… I’ve only had guard dogs around me,” Serena said gritting her teeth. 

“Then that’s what you will do,” Ray said patting Serena’s head, making the purple and cyan haired girl tilt her head in confusion. “Get to know Yuri, feed off of each other’s powers. Get closer. You will no longer be alone, or stuck in a boring room with nothing to do except planning the next thing to break just to retaliate.” 

Serena looked away. “What if he didn’t like me, or I didn’t like him?” 

“You are allies, even if you don’t love him, he will be there for you as you care for him. He will not question your strength like the other idiots around you, he’s already ours.” 

Something burned in Serena’s heart, a calmness, excitement, happiness at the prospect. Yuri was to be a companion or a friend, even if it was for a goal that they both achieve what they desire. Serena nodded accepting the answer. 

Ray smiled. 

“So… emotional vulnerability…” Rin said, taking a crystal rose and letting a few snowdrops land on her hand, before they moved around her hand, circling her wrist.

“What? You have an idea?” Serena asked.

Rin smirked and placed the crystal rose in her hair and smirked, looking at Serena with half laid eyes. 

“I’m...not exactly sure how…” Yuzu said. 

“That’s alright, I can share my memories with you girls, and any part of Zarc that you see, you can nurture, and bring it closer to the surface, gradually, it will become easier for Zarc to awaken.”

Yuzu nodded. “Yuya and I need to become stronger too, we’re so weak, especially compared to you guys, we only know Tribute Summoning, and that’s nowhere enough to protect ourselves if it wasn’t for Lady Ray...Yuri would have picked us up one by one. Maybe… maybe we should learn all the summoning methods,” Yuzu said.

“I do think that is a good idea,” Serena said with a smile, wondering what it would be like to use something other than Fusion. “We each have a summoning method which makes our attacks and strategies predictable; maybe new methods and cards could make us stronger.” 

“But we must keep it secret,” Ruri added. “And while it is easy for you to use Xyz summoning, Yuzu, it will be quite difficult for me to Synchro or Fusion summon, seeing as I don’t have the cards necessary to perform them and my brother would not be happy to see me using fusion, even if I am myself willing to do it.”

“I don’t think I have the monsters to perform Xyz summoning,” Rin said.

“It’s quite simple; just have two monsters with the same level and set them on top of one another,” Ruri began to explain.

“Okay, what part of ‘I have no Xyz cards’ in my dimension did you miss? Besides, I have at most two cards with the same levels,” Rin grumbled.

“I may be able to assist with such requests to strengthen your decks.,” Ray said.

“So you’ll be able to give us new cards?” Yuzu questioned. 

Ray smiled, “Yes, I can gift you with new cards to make you stronger aside from the powers I’ll give you,” she answered with a nod. The girls grind, and couldn’t wait for the new cards or the powers that they will obtain. 

“But how do we hide them?” asked Serena, realizing something. “If I suddenly start using Xyz monsters, the Professor is going to notice something shady.” 

“Use them when necessary. When it is time to leave your dimensions and reunite, and when it is time for the final battle. Rin and Yuzu can use new methods as they please, correct? No one would question them; rather, everyone else would be quite excited to see these unique monsters at play. As for Ruri and Serena, keep them as your secret weapons. You can practice fighting with them here; no one can enter except the four of you.” 

“Yes, my lady,” the four girls said smiling as a black aura surrounds them once more.

“Good,” Ray said. “Now, as for you Ruri, I know you can easily be near Yuto while he’s asleep correct?”

“Y-yes?” Ruri answered 

“Good, take this,” she said presenting Ruri with a dark glowing ball.

“This will allow you to get into his dreams,” Ray said. “ In his sleep, he will be susceptible, but the rest will be up to you.”

Ruri looked at the dark orb in her hand, a little unsure but...she had to, for Heartland’s sake and for their own as well, so that she, Yuto and the rest of the girls don’t get erased or destroyed by a mad man, she has to do everything in her power to get Yuto to unleash the part of Zarc inside of him, as she accepted the offer from Ray. Ruri nodded. “I will, and I will do one better even. Lady Ray, can you help me convince my brother to be by our side?”

Rin raised her eyebrow. 

“Shun Kurosaki…” Ray smiled. “Yes, of course, I can.”

“He will not… be harmed, will he?” Ruri asked. 

“No, never,” Ray swore, and Ruri nodded. She’ll wait for the right opportunity, and she will get Yuto and Sun by their side. One way or the other, Heartland will be back to the way it was, and all of them, all of them will be safe again. Unbeknownst to Ruri, her eyes glowed a dark purple light, as her convictions settled in. 

** 0-0-0-0-0-0-0 **

Ruri stood in the middle of a ring of rubble, most of Heartland had turned into that because of the monsters calling themselves the Obelisk Force. They had come and destroyed and forced everyone to either fight or hide. Smiles were far away and scarce, they never reached anyone’s eyes anymore, filled with dread and fear. And Ruri had been crushed as she looked at the once beautiful park and how destroyed it had become. 

She cried for days, wondering why people would use dueling as a tool for destruction like that. Why Yusho Sakaki, the man who taught her, Shun and her friends for the past three years to use dueling as a way to make people come together, vanished. He had not been seen for days after he decided to go after the leader of the Obelisk Force. Maybe he was carded, or dead, or he vanished. Either way, everyone’s faith in him had dropped significantly. 

After Ruri had had the talk with the other girls, after Ray, her… her original self had been awakened, after knowing all this destruction and pain was to get her, to erase her, and to finally get Ray back, Ruri had snapped, and her sadness turned into rage and hatred. There were no more tears left to shed. 

** You should be angry, you are not the only one who wishes to enact vengeance for the crimes of Obelisk Force, Academia and of the Fusion Dimension. I want to bring back what was rightfully mine. The united world, and my beloved Zarc. Join me, Ruri, help resurrect us both, and Heartland will be restored to what it used to be. **

Ruri had stood there frozen as darkness filled her heart, as anger and hatred bloomed, as power blossomed in her body. Memories of an old life flashing in her mind, where she ruled side by side with a man with hair like silver and green bonfire showered her with love and compassion the likes that no one had ever given her before.

Ruri wanted to lash out, after everything that had happened to her, everything she was told, she just wanted to scream and break everything in her way, tears filled her eyes before she whipped them quickly, no more tears, they would not change anything, she had to stand up, for Heartland, for Shun...for Yuto, for all the people in Heartland hurt and lost and in pain. 

“Ruri?” 

Ruri was startled from her thoughts as her name was called. Another young girl with twin pigtails and lavender hair. 

Ruri regarded the girl for a few seconds. “Sayaka,” she said, coming back to the present and shaking her head to get out of the trance she was in. 

“W...we should leave, more of the Obelisk Force would be coming soon,” Sayaka whispered fear coloring her voice as she hugged herself. 

Ruri sighed. “You’re right. There’s nothing we can do about this place anyway. It’s done for,” she said looking at her feet and gritting her teeth. 

“D...don't say that!” Sayaka whispered. “Yusho told us to keep smiling and -- “

“Well Yusho isn’t here and his philosophy didn’t save us when Academia barged in without knocking and began to attack us like we're animals to be put down!” Ruri snapped. 

Sayaka flinched back, not sure what had happened to make Ruri snap like that. The other girl was usually gentle and optimistic; she was strong, yes, but she had always been a soft-hearted girl. 

Ruri backed off for a moment, “I’m sorry Sayaka, I didn’t mean to snap,” she apologized, already feeling guilty for startling her friend and looking down before she bawled her firsts and narrowed her eyes, she had to be strong, for everyone. “Let's go,” Ruri said firmly, raising her head to look at Sayaka and began walking to the hideout making sure no one was following her and Sayaka.

“Ru-Ruri, wait!” Sayaka called and hurried to catch up with her friend. 

Everywhere Ruri looked, there was nothing but destruction and rubble, rocks and broken walls, glass shards, metal pipes, remains of clothes, electrical appliances marked where homes used to be. Grass, trees, and flowers that showed the beauty of the city were torn, and all that was left was clumps of dirt, weeds, and stumps. Any tree that was felled was chopped up to become firewood. Ruri clenched her fists at the unfairness of it all. Heartland did nothing to deserve such a cruel fate, and many citizens who laughed and cheered when monsters were summoned, people were now traumatized and never wanted to pick up a Duel Disk or Duel Monster card ever again. 

The two girls reached the hideout within record time, seeing people from all around Heartland, hurt, hungry, angry, and afraid, huddled together in thin blankets for warmth. Mothers held onto crying babies, fathers were sullen and angry. Some volunteers were feeding soup, bread, and anything non-perishable to a line of fifty people.

“Ruri, Sayaka, you guys are back. Shun and Yuto were looking for you,” Allen said, greeting both girls. “No signs of Obelisk Force, huh?”

“For now, yeah,” Ruri answered, eyes looking around for two familiar faces. “Where are Shun and Yuto?”

Yuto, a part of Zarc, Ray's Zarc. She and Yuto had met after one of her duels, Shun introducing the two of them to each other, she remembered that cute blush as she smiled at him, the dates they had, the duels where her monsters soared to the sky, wings alight. They were both happy, oh so happy.

But after the war, Yuto’s face was stoic. He never smiled; he only thought about using his Phantom Knights as the monsters they were: souls who would not die, possessing the armor of fallen warriors to strike against the enemy lines. And Shun was no longer carefree and innocent, ready to bomb any and all who used Fusion with his Raidraptors and card them in retaliation for the pain they caused. He no longer heard cries of happiness or cheer. 

Then there was Shun, her own brother. 

“Uh, Ruri? Are you in there?” asked Allen, shaking Ruri’s shoulder, taking her out of her thoughts.

“What is it, Allen?” Ruri, turning her head at the Train duelist and grabbing his wrist so he would stop touching her.

“Uh...ah….I just said that Yuto and Shun are In the planning room,” Allen answered, pointing towards a corridor with a sign that said “Do Not Disturb, Strategy in Progress” in a permanent marker that was salvaged a few days ago. “Ruri are… are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah...yeah, I’m fine,” Ruri said with a nod before heading to see where Yuto and Shun were. 

…

…

…

“I’m telling you, Yuto, we need to strike their base now!”

“And have all of their men card what’s left of us?!”

“We head in at the middle of the night when they’re bound to sleep and then I can use my Raidraptors to bomb the base. While they look in the confusion, we card them and make sure they never hurt us again.”

Yuto growled and slammed his hand on the very flimsy table, causing it to collapse...again. The so-called Strategy Room was mostly that table, some maps of Heartland that had been scribbled over, a crank-powered flashlight that was flickering behind Yuto and a few Academia based Duel Disks that needed to be tinkered with when Allen had the chance to work on them. “This plan of yours is a double-edged sword, Shun!”

“It’s better than no sword, Yuto!”

“They’re not all gonna be asleep, Shun. They’re not idiots. And the two of us can’t just go alone, they’ll outnumber us! More than that, if we’re not careful they could find this place and even more, people will be carded! We can’t just go there half-cocked with no backup.”

“We can’t stand here and wait for them to capture us when we’re trying to gather supplies!” Shun shouted, hands clenched into fists. “They destroyed our home, don’t you understand?”

“Of course I understand it’s my home too!” Yuto shouted back at Shun. “But there are hardly enough trained duelists to fight back against the Obelisk Force. I want them dead just as much as you do but I don’t want us dead in the process! Think about your sister; if she learned that you threw yourself into the lion’s den and were mauled by a pride of lions, what would she think? Who would she be angry with? The lions or you?” 

“Both of them actually,” Ruri’s voice answered matter of factly, crossing her arms.

“Ruri…” Shun remarked, noticing Ruri standing at the doorway.

“You’re back, that’s good,” Yuto said with a relieved sigh.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?” Shun asked as he walked forwards to her and placed his hands on her shoulders, checking if she was injured somewhere he couldn't see. 

Ruri sighed and uncrossed his arms “I’m fine, guys, don’t worry,” she told them before patting Shun’s shoulder. 

“Alright, good,” Shun said before turning to Yuto. “I still think a sneak attack is our best chance.”

“Maybe, but you never go for sneak attacks, you just duel them head on even when they outnumber you Shun,” Yuto answered back with a sigh, they've clearly been going on about this for a while.

Ruri watched the two of them argue over what they should do. She did agree with Shun's approach but also knew that Yuto was right in that they had to be sneaky and they had a handful of strong duelists to go against the hundreds camping and sleeping well with full bellies and warm blankets in their tents.

“I have to agree with Yuto,” said Ruri. “We’re going to have to fight them sooner or later, but perhaps we can also surprise them with Traps. Our Solid Vision makes it so that the cards become real; if they can do it to a monster, they could also do it with simple Traps like a Trap Hole or Widespread Ruin.”

“That’s true, Trap Hole activates as soon as monsters are summoned, and Ancient Gear Monsters can’t stop those kinds of traps from activating,” Yuto replied. “We’ll see what other cards can be found that will cause damage to the Obelisk Force and distract them long enough for us to card them.”

“How about this?” Shun said. “Before we card them, we take their Duel Disks. Their decks might have some cards we can use to our advantage.” 

“There could be a benefit for that; not everyone from Academia uses Ancient Gears, it’s just their biggest weapon. Some cards might benefit us, but I hardly think anyone here would use anything related to Fusion Summoning,” Ruri said, placing her hand on her chin and thinking. “Taking the Duel Disks might also be beneficial to get to other dimensions if need be.” 

“Other dimensions? Besides Fusion?” Shun asked. 

“Yes, as far as we know we’re the only dimension that is under attack, I don’t think even Fusion is big enough to be attacking other dimensions at once. If we can reverse engineer these Duel Disks and get to other more peaceful dimensions, not only can we possibly get allies but we can probably find supplies, food, clean water, things like that,” Ruri explained. 

“We can’t exactly guarantee these things, but these are good options to have,” Yuto agreed with a nod. 

Shun sighed. He didn’t trust these other ‘dimensions’, but they needed help and fast. “So until Allen can figure out a way to get us using the technology of Fusion, we need a coordinated assault on a smaller group of these Academia students that we can raid, gain their supplies and cards, then move out before they have a chance to recover. It wouldn’t matter if they used Ancient Gears or not; in fact, any Academia student would work.” 

“Judging by the color of the coats of Academia students, there’s a hierarchy,” Ruri added, she did get some information from Serena, and she was grateful for it. “Red, Yellow, and Blue. Obelisk Force is the highest one, so we should focus on the Yellow or Red coats then we’re good.”

“Yeah, if we dwindle their numbers even a bit it would be fine. Not all Fusion monsters are as deadly or protected as Ancient Gears, and either way, even if Trap Cards don’t work, monster effects are still valid against them,” Yuto said. “And even then, as long as we get their life points down to zero without throwing a punch we’re fine. Ring of Destruction should be perfect for this.”

“We should hurry and finalize our plans tonight. We don’t have time, the more we don’t do anything the more time they have to get to this place,” Shun said, narrowing his eyes and clutching his fists. He would never forgive whoever masterminded this genocide for as long as he lived. 

“That’s true, but again attacking them head-on can do more harm than good,” Yuto sighed. He would not want to end this with major injuries but sometimes he would have to do it in order to defend himself from a worse fate.

“We need to divide ourselves into groups and spread out if Academia troops appear to be too much then the rest of us regroup, and we don’t attack unless we know there wouldn’t be any back up for them on the way,” Ruri suggested. “Each of us leads a group, and get… get Kaito too, and start preparing any and all Traps we have. We should also prepare some nets or anything that can be used to trap them and take their Duel Disks away. If they don’t have their little toys then they can’t do any harm, can they? Stealing their weapons in their cards and decks would help.”

“All right then,” said Shun. “It may not be the plan I wanted, but it will still give them the message I want to send them.” 

“We can bomb them when we know we can sneak around and there won’t be any chance for any of them to survive,” Ruri said firmly. “This will also allow a second group to gather supplies without worry; we know Heartland like the back of our own hands. Let’s spread this to everyone else. Hopefully, they’ll be on board.”

Shun and Yuto nodded their heads as the three left the War Room. And fifteen minutes later, various people were lined up and handing Shun, Yuto, and Ruri every single card they had, as valuable as gold, for the assault on Academia.

Ruri’s mission was to bring Yuto closer to Zarc, but for now, she had a home to protect and people to help, things will have to wait. 

** 0-0-0-0-0-0-0 **

Two days later, the assault on Academia was a success.

The Fusion duelists had no cards to counteract the Trap Holes, Widespread Ruins, Blast with Chain, and other explosives that activated, many of them screaming in agony, some probably having lost a limb, some were scared. But they were eventually stripped of their decks and Duel. Academia fell and those who were capable of running away were retreating. 

None of these soldiers would come back for their fallen comrades. Some were just told by those who survived that they were “pathetic”, “weak” or “helpless” and deserved to be carded. Deadweights, loads, liabilities. Those who couldn’t fight off against the Xyz scum were of no use.

And the people who carded the weaklings showed no pity at all when they transformed their prey into cards. After everything they did, Ruri found that she lost any sympathy that she might have had for these people. They were hardly human, void of love or compassion, they deserved nothing but pain. Ruri hardened her heart, her tears were dried out, and more disgust and hate blossomed inside her.

At the end of the day, there were low casualties from Heartland, and for the first time in a long while, they felt relieved and just a fleeting moment, hope.

…

…

...

“Go, Assembly Nightingale! Attack directly!”

Ruri’s Xyz Monster beat a powerful wind with her wings, forming into five green energy crescents that struck an Obelisk Force soldier to the ground and dropped his life points to zero. Ruri looked at the Obelisk Force soldier begging and pleading for his life, asking for someone to save him, but there was no use, with a click of a button the Obelisk Force Member was carded, the last thing he saw was Ruri’s angry eyes surrounded by darkness.

The black and purple-haired girl looked around, the claws of Assembly Nightingale had made a mark on what were once walls of someone’s house, signaling to Academia that she was not a caged bird that would happily sing for them. She looked at the place in disdain, looking for more so-called soldiers to taste her wrath.

But despite this, Ruri didn’t feel satisfied. With each and every Obelisk Force duelist in her hand, she didn’t feel like it was going to change anything. There would always be more of them coming in trying to see who ‘else’ they could card in their so-called games. Despite the victory, the survivors were still suffering, some physically but most of them mentally. It would take months to get enough duelists to fight back but it would take only a few weeks before they would lose their supply of clean water and food.

Yet none of those Academia people in their tents and cots with warm water and bread cared about what they did, did they? They were all babies, spoiled babies who were selfish, and had no concept of what was right and wrong.

She needed an end to this and soon, even though her power grew, she realized without a doubt that the time to awake Zarc should come soon, before her entire dimension and its people are no more. Ray and Zarc were her only hope. Flickering her hand and bringing the black orb from Ray into existence. It was time.

** 0-0-0-0-0-0-0 **

Ruri took a breath and let it out, smiling. She made sure no one saw her as she moved closer to where Yuto and Shun slept, Ray’s spell ready, and her mind knowing just what to implant in Yuto’s dreams.

“Yuto~” Ruri cooed in Yuto’s ear, stroking his hair. Yuto shifted around moving closer to her but not waking up just yet. She sighed in relief and smiled looking at Yuto’s handsome face, her heart beating in her chest “Yuto...there, just relax and hear my voice..” 

“Mhh,” Yuto made a sound, and Ruri smirked.

“There, listen well,” Ruri placed a kiss on Yuto’s forehead. “You want to help me, right? Make me smile? Restore Heartland to its original glory? Keep everyone safe,” the more she held the orb and spoke to Yuto the more she became sure of her actions. That's what she should be doing, resurrecting Ray and Zarc, becoming one. 

Yuto nodded, unaware of Ruri stroking his hair and the black orb shimmered, Ruri’s eyes glowing in the darkness. “Academia must pay. Those who use Fusion to hurt others must be punished. The Phantom Knights must rise and enact vengeance, no matter how many times they perish”.

Yuto shivered and arched his neck back. In his dream, he stood in the destroyed land between the Phantom Knights, his troops, and the numerous Ancient Gear monsters summoned by Obelisk Force. Golems as tall as skyscrapers, two or three hounded dogs who could tear into the armor of his monsters and snap them in half with their jaws, a wicked reptilian monstrosity with three heads..all of it ready to tear everything he had down.

_ Obelisk Force is powerful, but you are strong, Yuto. So so strong with the might of a dragon by your side to unleash a powerful storm that will strike each and every one of these monsters without compassion, without mercy.  _

Yuto looked down and saw the purple scales on his arms, his fingers now sharp claws. He looked at his sides and he had wings on his back reminding him of the wings belonging to Dark Rebellion, over his forehead was a silver circle like a crown of a prince. Behind him was a silhouette of a man. He couldn’t make his features at all, he only seemed to have wings far larger than Yuto’s.

_ “It is who you were meant to be,” _ A voice said, Ruri’s voice. _ “Become one. Become one….” _

“Become one…” Yuto recited as thunder roared and bolts of lightning struck the ground beside him. Light flashed in his eyes as he felt another presence, hands wrapped around his chest, over his heart, making him feel whole. Yes, he wanted this feeling of being whole. Someone to hold him tight, promise to make his fears go away, to keep him safe and secure and loved. 

Then, Yuto stared at the numerous monsters and roared. The winds shrieked, the lightning flashed, the thunder came soon after. The Phantom Knights of Break Sword rushed into battle on his mechanical steed, chopping off the heads of every Ancient Gear monster he passed with his sharp sword. Yuto approached the terrified Obelisk Force soldiers, smiling at them in glee…

As he slit their throats with a swipe of his claws.

They began to bleed as all humans did. The looks on their faces as they lay dying was beautiful. The same fear and agony that was on the people of those they carded were on their rightful owners. He grinned as he removed the stupid masks on their faces and dug his claws into their eye sockets, making sure to leave large marks on their faces either. There. They looked much better now.

He felt his lips tingle as Ruri kissed him. A blush formed on Yuto’s lips and he half-expected Ruri to place his hands on his shoulders and massage them gently. Better yet, he wanted Ruri to touch his dragon wings and coo all over them.

“My beautiful dragon knight.”

“Ruri… my pretty songbird,” Yuto whispered back, and Ruri smiled, leaning to him once again and kissing his lips once more. “Come here, in my arms. Let me see you. Please, Ruri!” 

“Of course my love,” she said, placing her palm on Yuto’s cheek. “Not so shy anymore, are you? Not as stoic as the battles in Heartland have made you. My knight of Darkness, won’t you be mine? Won’t you stay by my side?”

Yuto nodded his head. “I will. Ruri, I...I…” His face turned red as he stammered out. “I...love you.”

Ruri’s smile widened. “ I love you too, my Yuto.” And she did, she loved him truly, to protect Yuto from Academia, to return Heartland to what it was. Awaken the power inside him, awaken Zarc. 

Yuto gasped as a figure approached him, and his eyes watered to see that it was Ruri in her beautiful purple/black dress, the one sleeve designed like feathers, and her bare shoulder having a pretty songbird perched there. Ruri smiled, arms spread out as beautiful lilac wings formed on her back. She was an angel…his angel...singing her songs of despair and perish to the evil souls, ready to send them to their deaths.

“Yuto…” Ruri whispered, eyes soft, loving, warm. “Come to me...kiss me…”

“Ruri…” Yuto whispered, running to her and wrapped his arms tight before kissing her on the lips. Ruri placed her fingers under Yuto’s chin. Yuto leaned closer, placing another kiss on Ruri’s lips. He felt everything was electrified. Tears trickled down his face as Ruri ran her fingers over his cheek.

“Let it all out. After this, there will be no more need for tears. We will celebrate our return and the kingdom we shall create over the rubble.”

Yuto hugged Ruri to him, kissing her forehead, her cheeks, her lips once more. He kissed her and kissed her and kissed her and Ruri kissed him back, smiling at how much Yuto showed his love for her.

“Stay by my side, my love. You, me, and Shun. Nothing will stand in our way.”

“Yes, Ruri,” Yuto replied, voice husky. “I will stay. Always. Forever.”

Ruri smirked as she began to sing, as the melody echoed in Yuto’s mind, the spell became stronger, binding Yuto’s heart and mind, to her, to Zarc. It was a song Ray sang, Ruri had no idea where it had come from, she just knew to sing it, placing Yuto’s forehead against her own as she kept the melody going. 

And in the real world, Yuto briefly opened his eyes, a soft purple glow in them to indicate that the spell had been cast and slowly, like cherry blossoms blooming, Yuto would be hers.

“Rest well my love, the time will come soon for us to be finally, fully together.” Ruri smiled and placed Yuto’s head back on the pillow. Yuto’s eyes closed shut and he fell back to sleep, forgetting the dream and the promise he made for the moment. When Ruri would ask for it, the dream and the dragon knight would return and would kiss Ruri over and over again as a sign of his devotion, the part of Zarc inside him awake.

With her work done with Yuto, Ruri then approached Shun. Shun curled into a ball, pillow clutched over his stomach. Shun would be a bit harder to get to, but Ruri would get as much as she could into his mind to help him.

“Shun,” Ruri whispered, kneeling by her brother’s side and patting her brother’s shoulder, and watched as the spell wrapped around his body like a boa constrictor. Tough yet loving. Shun was already filled with anger and hatred, just like her and Yuto; they all lost so much when the Obelisk Force had arrived. Shun was strong and dedicated, and he already granted these monsters no mercy. 

Even in his dreams, Shun had Raidraptor - Revolution Falcon destroying the Ancient Gear monsters without mercy. Bomb after bomb dropped, fire and smoke filled the sky and the screams of Obelisk Force soldiers rang like air raid sirens. Some soldiers were bleeding, some lost an arm or a leg. Some were already dead. Some screamed like babies, clutching onto fallen warriors, some were struggling to escape from the rubble, some were lifted up to the sky by other Raidraptor monsters then they plummeted to the ground, heads splitting open, blood spilling everywhere. 

Regardless, Shun was not smiling at the destruction. No, he wanted more. He wanted to pay them back tenfold for what they’ve done. And they had no excuse, no reason why they shouldn’t run back home. They had none. They started this.

Shun would not rest until the man who led these soldiers to war was defeated, left bleeding on the steps of his throne, head caved in when Shun grabbed their head and slammed it to the back of that throne until their skull cracked like a walnut. Ruri could only imagine the anger he would have had that monster of a man Akaba had actually managed to take her away before she awakened. 

Shun was ruthless. Academia hurt them, so they would hurt Academia back. She knew Shun would not oppose her newfound ruthlessness either. She wanted Shun by their side. He deserved the power, the freedom to duel without dueling for their lives. 

“Shun, my brother. Shun, Look.”

Shun blinked...and stepped back when he no longer saw a wasteland. No...he was back in Heartland...the Heartland that was there before the invasion began.

“Wh-what?” Shun wondered looking around. The sun was shining, people were laughing and smiling and dueled. The monsters were Xyz monsters; not a single person used Polymerization or an Ancient Gear monster. 

“Such a beautiful land, isn’t it?” Shun heard and looked at the source of the sound. His eyes widened as he saw an older looking woman standing beside him, she had brown hair with red streaks, wearing a backless dress that reached her ankles, the bodice connected by fabric to a collar around her neck

“Huh?” Shun said. “W...who are you? Why do you look like Ruri?!”

The woman turned back to him and smiled sweetly at him. Yet it looked like she wanted to eat him. “You lost so much haven’t you, Shun? Friends and family, all in the name of a selfish man.”

Shun looked down and glared, the sun was setting and the night was closing in. 

“We both want vengeance, and I can give you the power to enact it.” The woman continued, the white dress turning black as the landscape transformed from the green grass, blue sky, and peaceful to fire, smoke, brimstone, and chaos.

“I am Ray. I am vengeance and destruction, I am the one who wishes to destroy the man who caused this to happen. And I wish you to be by the side of my sword, to be my 

“How can I trust you?” Shun asked. “Better question, why should I trust you?!”

Ray smiled, full of patience and understanding. She looked at him, her eyes like empty caverns. “We have a common enemy, do we not? The professor. All I wish for is peace, don’t you?”

Shun shook his head. “I don’t want peace, not yet. Not until I know that every trace of Fusion never sets foot in Heartland again and every single person who was involved in this massacre is brought forth and executed!”

“You are quite creative in how you wish to bring about your retribution,” Ray mused. “I can give you that wish, help you achieve your vengeance and justice. No longer do you have to run in fear from these pawns. They, instead, shall run from you. And they will scream for terror as all of Heartland watches and laughs at them, and the Obelisk Force shall be toppled like dominoes before being eaten alive by the Xyz monsters that wish to avenge the duelists that had been taken away and slaughtered for a nothing but a lie. And as a show of trust, I’ll give you a present.”

“A present?” Shun asked, narrowing his eyes. 

Ray smirked and presented Shun with a card. Shun’s eyes widened as he saw a Raidraptor Xyz monster on it. “Raidraptor - Arsenal Falcon”.

“Is it to your liking?” Ray asked, smirking. 

“And this is mine?” Shun asked looking at the card and back at Ray with narrow suspicious eyes. 

“Yes, as a show of faith. I am your ally, Shun Kurosaki.”

Shun narrowed his eyes. “What’s the catch?” he asked.

“Just work with me,” Ray answered. “I ask that you join in my quest to stop that evil Professor, Professor Akaba. In fact, I promise you that you will have the first strike to hurt him. Make him bleed. Declare to those pathetic Academia students that the faux king has been dethroned and his influence will never ever hurt anyone ever again. And all who sided with him shall join him in the afterlife while their bodies will fuel the numerous bonfires that will light up in celebration of our victory. It will be magnificent.”

Shun imagined what Ray said. That Professor on the ground, beaten, his kingdom toppled. And Shun, Shun who suffered, Shun who lost his innocence, Shun who saw his world crumble...he watched his body grab onto the throat of that man and lifted it towards the throne, slamming the head again and again and again until the back of the throne was stained with that pathetic man’s blood.

“Wouldn’t that sound lovely?” Ray said, somehow by Shun’s side, lips close to his ear. Her skirt flew in the wind, rippling like ink on water. “They destroyed everything, killed and carded so many people wearing smirks and laughing as if you are nothing but dirty toys that are to be discarded or tossed into a fire. They do not deserve forgiveness, do not deserve mercy. Follow me, work by my rule and you will have everything you desire. 

“I... “ Shun gasped as Ray ran her fingers down his chin. His eyes darkened. “I…”

Ray smirked. “Take your time to decide, Shun Kurosaki. But think about it, vengeance, justice, power. Anything you desire.”

“But...Ruri…” 

"Will be by your side as well, and you and Yuto will protect her."

"Protect?" Shun asked Ruri was always strong, and lately, it seemed that people needed protection from her, not the other way around. 

“Oh… have I not mentioned what would have become of her?” Ray’s face became solemn, her grip on Shun’s shoulders tightened. “The evil Professor would have tried to take Ruri away, putting her in a cage awaiting a sacrifice.”

“S...sacrifice?” Shun asked, eyes wide with fear and boiling rage. 

“Yes, and I could only imagine what he would have done to her. The experiments, the isolation. And if he found away, he could control her; he would’ve done something to her brain, make her his slave. Make her go out and attack those she loved and she would have no question or thought in her mind to say it’s wrong. How awful.”

Shun’s eyes widened. his pupils shrinking in anger as Ray spoke. His little sister… hurt and alone, and enslaved to do as a mad man wished, screaming to be free but her requests ignored for the sake of his desires.

“Not only that, but he would destroy Yuto, send your sister to kill him before going off to kill you.”

Shun could feel his heart pounding in his ears at the thought of losing his friend and sister, his sister apathetically murdering Yuto while Shun could do nothing. And then, Ruri would take her rightful place at the sacrificial altar, laid out like a cake as someone took a knife and split her body apart, ready for some cruel god to devour her from head to toe.

Tears dripped down Shun’s face as Ray placed a gentle, motherly hand on his cheek and smiled. “So, what will you do, little falcon?”

Shun didn’t need to think about what he was going to do. “I’m gonna kill them, kill them all!”

Ray smirked, seeing the dark aura forming around Shun, licking his skin and feeding off of his anger. “That’s good. Very good. But you won’t stop at him, will you?”

“I’ll go to the people who tortured my sister, whoever brainwashed her, whoever laughed at her, whoever insulted her,” Shun declared, eyes darkening. “I will summon my monsters and rain an arsenal of bombs that will level their castle, crushing them all in the rubble. I will gleefully toss limbs into the inferno and grab any stone I find to bash their skulls in! I will not stop until every last one of these bastards are dead, in chains, carded, or screaming in agony for everything they did! I am going to kill them, every last one of them!”

Ray ran her finger down Shun’s cheek, delighted in the response. “Build that fire, tend to it with care. Then, when it is time, burn that dimension to the ground. Then you shall have peace, in a newly built kingdom rising from their ashes.”

“...” Shun looked at the woman again, Ray, she stood there like a goddess of vengeance and retribution. His heart was hammering in his chest at what she asked of him. He was afraid, yet more than that he was angry and spiteful; the people from Academia deserve their fates. They’re the ones who invaded them, they’re the ones who destroyed everything, took loved ones away, happily harmed and hurt everyone, adult or child, and acted like everything was just a stupid game as if everyone’s lives were nothing as if they didn’t matter. It made his blood boil with hatred and rage and desperation, for it all to end, for those fucking Fusion freaks to leave and die already. None of these monsters deserved to live. 

Ray smirked and turned Shun’s face to match hers before placing a kiss on his cheek. “I’ll be talking to you soon…”

And in the real world, Shun relaxed further into sleep.

** 0-0-0-0-0-0-0 **

It had been a few days since Ray had awakened and her presence influenced her counterparts. The Xyz dimension had fought back with as much cunning and brutality as the Fusion dimension. They returned from their attack with numerous cards: some of them used for playing Duel Monsters, but many of them with the faces of Fusion duelists in blue, yellow, or red coats. Duel Disks were pulled apart and many of the more technical minded survivors began to work on figuring out how they could use the technology to their advantage.

The survivors were in much higher spirits as they were able to gather more and more non-perishable goods to cook with. Many of the Academia camps were abandoned, so they were swiftly ransacked -- tent and all -- for anyone who needed it. Medicine was quickly distributed to the young and the elderly and for once in a long long time, there was happiness.

But some of the people there couldn’t help that something was wrong.

Sayaka, Allen, Shun, and Yuto were sharing rations of a slow-cooked stew of dried pork and pickled vegetables alongside some instant rice before Sayaka brought up something that has been on her mind for a while.

“Ruri’s changed,” Sayaka whispered. 

Shun sighed “It’s war, she has to be like that or else what’s to say she doesn’t fall prey to these bastards?” he brought up immediately. While he did see a change in his sister that somewhat worried him he did believe it would be for the best. Ruri was one of their best fighters, as much as Shun wants to keep her from the battlefield and keep her safe he knew would be best that she fought too. 

“No, Sayaka’s right,” Allen spoke up, scooping up stew into his mouth. “Ruri’s not herself anymore. Look at her, leading the fray and acting more like a soldier instead of the sweet girl who would cry over the chaos that’s happening, and the way she’s off in her own little world most of the time? It worries me

Shun looked away at the response.

“What about you Yuto? What do you think?” Sayaka asked.

Yuto sighed, setting his empty bowl on the floor. It was an unwritten rule now that no one was allowed to waste food; whatever you got, you eat. “I don’t know, I am worried about her, but she hasn’t hesitated to fight at all. She’s leading the resistance more efficiently than we did before, and she’s beaten a lot of Academia students on her own.” 

“But we rarely see her smile these days,” Sayaka protested. “Her high spirits usually get us through a lot, she’s always confident that we can survive this, but now… It’s like all she wants to do is fight.

“It’s hard to smile when everything around you gets destroyed,” Shun reminded them

“No, I mean. She always smiled to keep people’s spirits up. She doesn’t anymore. Rather, she’s more focused on hurting Academia…” Allen said

“What happened to her?” Allen asked.

“I don’t know. The two of us were coming back here a few days ago when it started. She was like herself when we went there, she stood in the center of what was the park...and then she just...changed.”

“Well, the changes have helped us obtain vital information about Academia, carded many of their soldiers, and retrieved new cards we can use against them.”

"That's enough!" Yuto said placing his hand on Shun's shoulder and forcing him to sit back down, before looking back at Allen and Sayaka, “What exactly do you want us to do about it?” 

Allen and Sayaka exchanged a worried look. 

“We can’t just tell her to smile, Ruri is angry and scared, we all are, she can’t always put others before her and ignore her own pain and fear,” Shun said.

“It’s just...why don’t you talk to her about it Yuto?” Sayaka asked. “I mean, I know you have a big crush on her.”

Yuto’s cheeks went red. “What’s that got to do with anything?”

“Just please, talk to her,” Sayaka begged. "We're pretty sure you're the only person she won't rip their throat out."

Yuto sighed. “Fine, I’ll try asking. I can't guarantee anything though.”

“Thanks, Yuto,” Sayaka said with a small smile.

Yuto sighed again and walked out of the room looking for Ruri. He walked around the hideout before going outside. He found her sitting alone between the rubble looking up at the moon.

“Ruri,” Yuto called and the black-haired girl turned towards him. 

“Yuto,” she greeted with a smile. 

Yuto swallowed, seeing how the pale light made her look so ethereal, her eyes deep and beautiful, her smile so sweet.

“What’s up?” she asked, her smile making his heart thump in his chest.

“Um… well,” he began and sat beside her, looking down. “Are you okay?” Yuto asked.

“Yeah, well… as well as I can be, why do you ask?” Ruri said tilting her head at him.

“Well it’s just that, you’ve been...acting weird lately, and we’re worried.” 

“Weird?” Ruri asked with a small frown. 

“You’re not...you anymore,” Yuto tried to explain before he sighed. “Ever since you started that assault on Academia. I don’t see you reassuring mothers or their children everything will be okay. You’re always deep in thought and planning these strategies. You’ve become...cold to almost everyone."

“I have to..." Ruri said, looking down. “They took everything from us, our homes, our loved ones. That’s all I can think about. I’m just angry, I can’t… get myself to reassure anyone of anything right now Yuto, it’s hard to just look forward to the future when the present is so bleak.” 

Yuto looked with sympathy at Ruri, he understood what she meant by that. “Yeah but it’s just… you always reassure us, you always smiled no matter what, and now, you’re so cold.” 

“You’re stone-faced and aloof most of the time Yuto, and Shun is angry and destructive. So why am I held to another standard than either of you? Why can't I just be angry and cold without anyone telling me I'm 'acting strange'?”

“N-no, Ruri,” Yuto tried to explain, “W-e’re just worried about you, that’s all. You were so into Yusho’s philosophy about -- “

“That philosophy is only good when the group wants to change its ways and smile about having fun. Not because they’re having fun at being sadists! We’re fighting off against a bunch of homicidal bastards. Why are you even arguing about this, Yuto? You fight the same way as I do, you’re just as ruthless as me. So why am I the one getting the second degree here?”

“I…”

“It’s because I’m a girl, isn’t it?” Ruri asked, narrowing her eyes and crossing her arms.

Yuto flinched, realizing what Ruri was talking about. “N-no! That’s not what I’m saying! You just...changed a lot," Yuto tried again. "You’re almost a total stranger now and we’re all worried about you. Ruri, what’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing’s wrong with me, Yuto, I just realized pacifism, and trying to get these people to change is a waste of effort and might get one of us carded. Heartland can’t survive if we don’t do something” Ruri said, and placed a hand on Yuto’s cheek, making Yuto's eyes widen at the gentle touch. “If we want our dimension to survive, we have to be ruthless. They came in and attacked us when we did nothing wrong. If I don’t do something… _ nothing  _ will be left, not even us.”

“Ruri…” Yuto said wanting to comfort her, the girl threw her arms around Yuto’s neck and buried her face in his chest. Before Yuto could comprehend what Ruri was doing, she pulled Yuto to her and crushed her lips against his. Yuto’s eyes widened as Ruri pulled him closer. 

“W-wait...Ruri,” Yuto froze as Ruri looked at him with soft eyes and a sweet smile, making him blush once more. Ruri’s thumb caressed Yuto’s cheek lovingly. 

Yuto could feel his heart beating as Ruri leaned against a wall and pulled Yuto closer to her, placing her hand on the back of Yuto’s neck and pulled him once more for a kiss. Yuto couldn’t resist kissing her back, pressing her gently against the wall. 

** Zarc...Zarc...awake my love, awake, awake, awake. My Dark King. Come back to me, come to me...and let us rebuild our kingdom from the ashes of our enemies. **

Yuto’s eyes widened and he felt something in his chest. It felt like his heart was struck by an arrow. That name...that voice...they felt so familiar to him.

** Please Zarc.  **

Yuto broke the kiss but didn’t move from Ruri’s hold, looking a thousand miles away. Ruri swallowed, not sure if it worked, but wanted to know, wanted to know that he was back.

“Yuto…” Ruri whispered as Ray thought to him,  ** Zarc. Can you hear me? Awake! **

Pain began to bloom in Yuto's head, and he began to struggle before he froze, grey eyes became gold and in a soft and steady voice he recited, “Reunite...Reunite me, Ray...Reunite us…”

“I will, Zarc. We already have another piece of you ready, the other two will fall into place soon enough.” Through Ruri, Ray ran the back of her hand against his cheek. “I missed you so much.”

Zarc leaned into the hand on his cheek before placing a kiss on the inside of her palm. “Be careful Ray. I need you by my side, always.”

Tears fell down Ray’s eyes. “I will always be with you. The demon who stole my heart, the king who gifted me the world. These children are making plans to head to Standard. Tell me, can you influence Yuto?”

Zarc closed his eyes and brought his hand to his head as if in pain. “I believe I can influence him, barley, but the closer all of my pieces are to each other the stronger my influence grows.” 

Ray smiled, already knowing what the counterparts were like thanks to sharing memories with her. Yugo, dorky, and headstrong. Yuri, serious and playful and violent. Yuya, fun-loving, and bright. 

Zarc winced and his eyes started to flicker from gold to grey. “My Ray. I'm losing control, take care of yourself.”

“I promise…” **** Ray said, leaning forward to kiss Zarc one more time. “We will be in each other’s arms again soon, I hope to talk to you in a different form soon.”

Ray smiled as she surrendered control back to Ruri. Seconds passed as Zarc closed his eyes and when he opened them, it was Yuto with bleary grey eyes.

“Are you okay?” Ruri asked, running her knuckles gently down Yuto’s cheeks, smiling sweetly. 

“Yeah just...feel a little dizzy that’s all,” Yuto mumbled, trying to remember what happened. Something about Ruri and then she...kissed him. 

Ruri smiled gently and placed a kiss on Yuto’s cheek. Yuto blushed deeply and hastily stuttered a “Good night,” Ruri smiled softly and grabbed Yuto’s arm before leaning on him and walking the both of them inside the Resistance shelter to rest. As they laid down on their beds -- really nothing more than sheets to keep them from touching the dirt-stained floor -- Ruri smiled and placed her hands on her heart, feeling accomplished, Ray and Zarc will be resecured soon, and everything will be okay. 


	3. The Magicians in the Princess' Court

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys we're back to this story. And yeah, yeah I know some of you are looking forwards to Kingdom but honestly? FUCK SYNCHRO! Seriously the points of complaint about that Arc is so bad and so long and I shouldn't start it. 
> 
> I Changed everything in Synchro in this story.
> 
> We also hope to surprise you, and give you a fun time, and hopefully make the characters better when needed. 
> 
> Hopefully you guys like this. We really had fun writing it.
> 
> Edited in 29/08/2020
> 
> Enjoy,

The alarm clock rang again for the third time that morning, loud, blaring, and waking him up from a dream where he was with someone, someone he loved with all his soul, a person precious to him more than his own life. They wanted to offer up something important...their memories for him to have, to share. He remembered placing his hands over his beloved’s own and seeing that bright smile on their face that made his heart swell with joy…

But before they could respond to this simple gesture, that blasted thing, slayer of sleep, invaded the memory and ruined the experience.

A voice groaned from underneath the bedsheets before reaching out for the source of the blasted ringing, hand slamming on the corners of the bedside table a few times before finally hitting the snooze button. For a few seconds, the boy believed that he could continue to sleep in peace when several loud and fast knocks were heard on his door, ending any chance of him getting some more shut-eye.

“Atem!!!! Wake up or we’ll be late!” The voice of his twin sister Mana rang in his ear and Atem didn’t even bother depressing a sigh before removing the cover and getting up, stretching his arms, and leaving his room to get head to the bathroom and get ready. He hated mornings, especially school mornings.

Fifteen minutes later, Atem headed down the stairs to see his older brother Mahad making them breakfast. Atem let out a loud yawn and muttered, “Good morning…” in a tired tone before he slumped into his seat at the table. “I don’t know why I even bother with the alarm when you send Mana to shriek in my ear every morning.” 

“Well, you slept through three alarms! At this point she is my best option to get you up,” Mahad pointed out, preparing a rolled egg omelet.

“And I didn’t shriek in your ear. I barely raised my voice,” Mana countered, crossing her arms and looking away, mock offended. She knew very well how loud she could be. 

Atem snorted, softly smirking at his sister and waited for his breakfast to be made, Mana on the other hand looked like she was inhaling her food, as usual. 

“Slow down Mana, or you’ll choke,” Mahad pointed out 

Mana snorted. “Na-uh,” she countered and continued to eat at her usual pace. 

Mahad sighed and shook his head. “Honestly why do I even bother?” he asked, entering the dining room with a plate in hand. He set the omelet down alongside a slice of toast in front of his younger brother. “Eat up. You’re gonna need all the energy to get to school.”

“You bother with this because you love us, duh,” Mana said with a laugh. Mahad rolled his eyes but couldn’t hide the small smirk on his face.

“Any plans today?” Mahad asked as he sat down and started eating too. 

“We were planning to hang out with the guys after school, Tea wanted to go to that new Cafe that opened recently and I can’t say no to that,” Mana said with a smile. 

“There is a game shop across it so Yugi, Joey, and I wanted to check it out,” Atem said. “You’re welcome to join if you’re free.”

“Yeah, big brother, what do you say?” Mana said with a brilliant smile. It was infectious enough to get Mahad to mirror it back. 

“I’ll think about it,” he responded, which got Mana to cheer and Atem to have a soft smile on his face. Mahad rarely had free time since he worked part-time as a teacher. “Come on now, time to head out or you’ll be late.” He told them both. 

“Yeah, yeah,” Mana waved him off before placing the rest of the dishes in the dishwasher and headed with Atem to the door. 

“Text us if you want to come along,” Atem told Mahad looking over his shoulder at the older brother. 

“Sure thing,” Mahad said with a nod. 

“Bye!” Mana said waving at Mahad and grabbed Atem’s arm to make him hurry up and leave the door all while Mahad sighed.

“One benefit of not going with them,” he muttered. “Is that I don’t have to worry about the admirers stalking me.”

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

“Look! There they are!”

“Oh my gosh, they’re so cute!”

“I wish she’d go out on a date with me!”

“I wish he looked at me with those pretty crimson eyes!”

Atem groaned as he heard the whispers and swoons from his and Mana’s numerous admirers. Mana simply continued to walk with a smile on her face, soaking in all the attention. Mana was a spoiled thing. Out of the three of them, she was the youngest, and while Mahad did make it a habit to try and discipline her, neither one of the two brothers had ever refused her any request. It didn’t help that she had that look on her face that could cause them to give in to whatever she asked for. 

Mana was simply bubbly and happy, her personality and cute face attracted a lot of people to her like flies to honey, and she never seemed uncomfortable with all the attention. Unlike her twin brother. 

While Atem had no trouble in crowds and seemed to all the world as if nothing can affect him, he stood an immovable object and a self-assured young man with a full belief in his abilities and no hesitation whatsoever, he simply didn’t like the attention that his sister gets. He doesn’t like the lustful looks, and he certainly didn’t like anyone who would want to be with him because of his status in the dueling world. 

So yeah he was The King of Games. And so what if he was said to be the only person who obtained victory over the CEO of Leo Corp., Reiji Akaba. Is that what people cared about? Well, to the world he was, but truthfully, there was someone stronger than him, someone, who had beaten him several times. Atem smiled softly at the memory of his sweet smile, his pretty lilac eyes, and adorable self. 

Mana looked back at her brother and smiled. “Hey, stop daydreaming we’ll be seeing your boyfriend soon enough,” she told him. Mana snickered at the blush that colored Atem’s face at the mention of his… of Yugi Muto and looked away from her not dignifying her statement with a response. 

“Good morning Atem! Mana!”

And then Atem looked up to see Yugi approach them, along with Joey and Tea.

“Hey you two,” Joey called. 

“Hey!” Mana waved at the three of them and Atem gave them a smile and a nod. Atem blinked twice as Yugi came closer to them and Mana smiled. 

“Nice collar,” Mana told him. 

“Oh thanks, I thought might as well, ya know...” Yugi said, rubbing the back of his head. “What do you two think?”

“Suits you, right Atem?” Mana said, turning to her brother who had a soft blush and covered her mouth with her fingers to not giggle. 

“Y-yeah looks good on you Yugi,” Atem stammered out. Yugi blushed smiling happily at the compliment from his friends. 

The group of friends continued to head to the school grounds chatting between themselves and making a few more plans. All while some of the other students couldn’t help but feel jealous at how close Atem got close to Yugi.

“I can’t believe you had the guts to duel Reiji like that,” Joey exclaimed. 

Atem shrugged like it was no big deal. “He’s not exactly the hardest opponent I went against.”

“His monsters are a headache,” Mana exclaimed. “And how can he somehow plan to do all those summonings? Ugh and I thought math was hard…” Mana said with a sigh. 

Téa giggled. “Well, you might wanna make sure you keep your winning streak intact because I’m sure more people are gonna challenge the King of Games over and over again. Or the next few tournaments would be meaningless.”

Atem and Mana exchanged a look while Yugi looked away, cheeks bright red.

“Oh, he will~,” Mana said in a sing-song voice. 

The five of them are grouped up with Tristan and Bakura in class, both of them play a game of Capsule Monsters. Tristan was doing his best to get over Bakura’s defense, all while Bakura smiled like an angel. Tristan moved his Thunder Kid one square to the right.

“Ha!” Tristan said. “Now my Thunder Kid’s ability to paralyze your Doma the Angel of Silence prevents you from getting my crystal! What do you say to that?”

“Mask of Darkness can activate its ability to swap places with one monster I control,” Bakura said, swapping his two pieces. “And then my Diabound can move an additional two spaces if I sacrifice a monster on the field.”

“But that means…” Tristan’s jaw dropped when he saw Bakura move his last piece toward the crystal.

“I win.”

“Grr…best out of five at lunch!” Tristan shouted as everyone else settled down for class to begin.

Bakura chuckled and nodded. “Sure, just don’t take it too badly if I beat you five times in a row though” Bakura put the game back in his bag, and the teacher entered the class. Mana got bored of it fast and began doodling in her notebook, while everyone else attempted to take some notes (and Joey fell asleep about half an hour in). 

Soon enough, it was lunchtime, Mana practically jumped out of her seat before grabbing Téa and Yugi. She knew everyone else would follow them anyway, and she hoped she could get a duel out of someone.

“So…” said Joey. “Who wants to place bets that the sucker that thinks they can defeat Mana is going to last like, what, five turns with her?”

“How about us making a bet to see which monster Mana is going to use

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

“WHO WANTS TO DUEL ME?!!!!” Mana shouted at the top of her lungs. The other sweatdropped while Bakura and Tristen found a table and set up the Capsule monster board. 

“You know you could just duel Atem or Yugi, or me, hell even Joey right?” Tea asked. 

“Well yeah sure, but I want to duel someone new, dueling the same decks over and over gets a little stale I wanna fight someone new.” 

“And that is the shrieking I have to deal with every day,” Atem joked as he sat down before resting his chin in his palm. Mana blew a raspberry at her brother, making the other laugh. Atem sensed something coming after Yugi. “Yugi, look out!”

Yugi turned and out a small shriek as he was hit with three darts to the forehead. There was a look of shock before Yugi pulled a dart out of his head and noticed that it was made of foam and had a suction cup on the end. “Huh? Where did this come from?”

“Ah, such a shame. I was going to have Cupid’s Arrow land at the heart of that sweet ball of sunshine, but it landed on a lowly starfish instead.” A loud obnoxious voice answered as a student, around two years younger than the group approach with three other boys backing him up.

Atem’s eyes narrowed, as Yugi simply removed the other darts from his forehead. 

“Uh...who are you?” Joey pointed out.

“Why, have you not heard of the great Shingo Sawatari?” The boy replied, hand on his heart, his arm stretched out in a grandiose manner. “One of the best, if the best, students in Leo Duel School?”

“Sawatari? The Mayor’s kid?” asked Bakura.

“You okay Yugi?” Mana asked. 

“Yeah, it’s just a toy dart, no big,” Yugi said with a small smile. Shingo scoffed. 

“Well, sweet Bella? What do you say, would you go out with me?” 

Téa narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms ready to tell the boy off before Mana stopped her. “Sure! I will,” Mana said with a smile. “If you can beat me in a duel that is.”

“Huh is that all? Such an easy task for me to do.”

“The great Sawatari beats all!” one of the boys with Shingo, Ootomo, declared. 

“Here’s the deal!” said Mana. “If I lose then I’ll go out with you. But if you lose, you’ll have to apologize to Yugi and admit you’re nowhere near my level to the entire school. Do we have a deal?”

“Oh we have a deal, my sweet,” Shingo replied. “But be prepared that a king such as myself will topple over whatever stands in my way!”

“Man that kid gives me the creeps,” Téa said. “Beat his ass Mana!” 

“You got it!” Mana told her and grabbed her duel desk from her backpack. She then began to shout, “WHO WANTS TO SEE ME THRASH SOMEONE?! THE SISTER OF THE KING OF GAMES IS ABOUT TO DUEL!” 

Somehow at least twenty or thirty students began to crowd around Mana and Shingo, shoving Joey and Tristan off to the side. Many of the boys were already cheering Mana on.

  
  


“This should be fun,” Yugi said with a smile, while Atem placed his hand on Yugi’s shoulder. He didn’t like it when someone attacked Yugi, even if it was nothing more than a simple toy dart to the forehead.

“Alright then, it’s time to duel!” Mana said placing her duel desk on her arm 

**(Shingo: 8000) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- (Mana: 8000)**

“Awe ya bunch of jerks!” Joey yelled behind three or four students in front of him and was about to start shoving others before a familiar voice stopped him. 

“Joey? What’s going on?”

“Huh?” Joey said confused, looking around him before he saw Yuya standing there with Yuzu and Gongenzaka. “Oh, Yuya! Hey, I don’t know, but some spoiled rich kid threw a dart at Yugi and now I’m pretty sure Mana is gonna unleash hell. Well, I guess between her or Atem, she’s the least dangerous option.”

“Uh...didn’t she once set someone on fire for insulting Tea?” Yuya asked.

“I stand by what I said,” Joey replied. “She’s the least dangerous option.” 

Yuya shivered but Yuzu just glared at Joey for a second before turning her eyes to the duel. Gongenzaka took a swift glance at Yuzu but said nothing. 

“Ladies first,” said Shingo, bowing towards Mana.

“With pleasure,” Mana giggled. “And now, I draw!”

With a swift draw and a stance just like Atem, Mana added a card to her hand. Mana’s smile was wide and happy, and she looked at the crowd one more time before with a show of playfulness that Atem would never do. She grabbed a card from her hand and declared loudly, “So now I play one of my adorable girls! I summon Berry Magician Girl in Attack Mode!” 

Gasps and whispers came from the crowd as a small monster that looked more like a fairy than a spellcaster appeared. She wore what looked like a teal onesie with a pink robe covering that. Her orange hair, with two long bangs falling past her shoulders was mostly covered by a peaked pink magician’s hat. She had bright brown eyes that stared at everyone in awe, while she sucked on a pacifier. In her right hand was a pink wand tipped with a red spiral and had a small red orb on the bottom. She fluttered above the ground with her pale fairy wings, looking at everyone watching her before smiling. (400 ATK)

“AWWWW!!!” The crowd cooed over the little girl who waved her wand around like it was a rattle. Well, most of the crowd, anyway.

“A baby?!” Kakimoto shouted. “You’re sending a baby into battle?!”

“Shingo is gonna make that baby wail for its mommy in no time!” Yamambe cackled.

“If that was the only monster you have then you could have just placed it face down,” Ootomo added.

“Oh no, she’s going to lose so fast!” a voice from the crowd said. 

“Come on, Mana! Play better! Maybe...she can redo her turn?” Someone else asked.

“Excuse me?!” Came the undignified response from Shingo.

Mana giggled and smiled at the crowd. “Don’t worry everyone!” she said, bouncing on the balls of her feet, still smiling brightly. “It’s all gonna be fine, I promise~” 

The crowd erupted into cheers, smiling brightly and calling Mana’s name. Atem just groaned and placed his hands over his face. His sister just loved the spotlight a little too much. Yuya couldn’t help but smile. Mana reminded him too much of his dad. Whenever it looked like he made a bad move or was at a disadvantage, he never let that frighten him. No, he would encourage the audience to become even more excited for the duel to follow.

“Now, since Berry Magician girl was Normal Summoned to the field, I get to take one Magician girl from my deck to my hand, and I choose...Kiwi Magician girl!” Mana said brightly as she took the card from her deck before showing it to the crowd and then to Shingo, and putting it back between the other cards, as the duel desk shuffled her deck. “Finally, I place two cards face-down and end my turn,” Mana then slipped two cards in the trap/spell slots. “Your turn~” 

“It’s too bad you can’t summon that monster you added,” Shingo remarked, drawing his card. “And if you think that baby can be considered a monster, you haven’t seen this yet. First, I play Return of the Monarchs!”

Shingo played his Continuous Spell Card, showing Granmarg the Monarch rising from the ground, stones flying around him.

“We’ll get to its effect very soon, but since you have two Spell or Trap Cards on the field, I can Special Summon Escher the Frost Vassal from my hand!”

Rising from a multitude of small icy stalagmites, a cyan monster appeared. It looked similar to that of a monk with light blue robes with an orange sash in front and a round disk over his head. The sleeves of his outfit were round and puffed up like balloons and had ruffles at the end. There were small spikes close to the neck and a spike protruding on each hip. (800 DEF)

“Vassals?” asked Bakura. “And Escher of all things?! Oh no...that’s not good.”

Mana watched in anticipation, grinning. Bakura was worried and it only made her excited about what type of challenge she was about to face. 

  
  


“Now I tribute Escher the Frost Vassal for one of the most powerful one-tribute monsters you’ll ever see. Ladies and gentlemen, prepare yourselves for Mobius the Frost Monarch !”

Escher was frozen over by a larger frozen stalactite. Then it cracked as a larger figure in silver armor with a beaked mask and a blue cape appeared with a mighty roar. (2400 ATK)

“Mobius’s effect! When it’s Tribute Summon, I can destroy two Spell or Trap cards on the field. And isn’t it just my luck that you have two face-down Spell and Trap cards!”

Mobius groaned as an icy wind formed across the field, freezing Mana’s Set Cards before they shattered.

“And that’s not all!” Shingo added. “Since I have I Tribute Summoned a monster, and have no monster in the Extra Deck, I can take a monster with either 2400 ATK and 1000 DEF or 2800 ATK and 1000 DEF to my hand. And the monster I choose is this.”

Shingo pulled out a card from his deck and showed it to everyone. Mana didn’t look worried about it she stood there smiling in excitement, although others were concerned.

“This man, Gongenzaka, knows how powerful that card can be,” Gongenzaka commented.

“Yeah this might not end well,” Yuzu added. “Poor girl might have to end up on a date with Shingo Sawatari and he’ll never stop bragging about it. Berry Magician Girl was bait when she’s that weak, and with Shingo destroying her two faces down cards she probably has no defense now, and can’t spring the trap.”

“She doesn’t seem worried though,” Yuya said. ”She seems as confident as ever.” 

“Perhaps she's putting on a brave face,” Gongenzaka suggested. 

“Or she might be banking on the crowd to not let Shingo near her,” Yuzu replied.

Joey smirked, knowing how strong Mana is. “You guys should keep watching, Mana has plenty of tricks up her sleeve. She’s a pretty powerful sorceress of her own.” 

“Sorceress?” Yuya repeated.

“Uh, I mean, the magicians who go on stage who pull rabbits from hats and do fancy coin tricks!” Joey stammered. “You know, those types of sorceresses...s. We kinda like to call Mana that, since she likes Spellcasters and more often than not she tricks everyone into doing what she wants.” 

“Oh….” Yuya said, finally understanding how it made sense. Yuzu narrowed her eyes at the remark though.

“Go Mobius! Attack Berry Magician Girl now!” Shingo declared.

Mobius summoned a large shard of ice in his hand before hurling it at the toddler. The screams from the crowd were loud and...very loud.

“Not the baby!”

“Why the baby?!”

“Don’t worry, just because she’s a baby doesn’t mean she’s defenseless!” said Mana. “I activate Berry Magician Girl’s effect!” 

Mana swept her hand over the air as Berry Magician girl Glowed, and Mobius stopped his attack. “Since she is targeted for an attack, she can change her battle position and I’m allowed to Special Summon a ‘Magician Girl’ from my deck. And I choose the first Magician Girl, the one to which Berry and her sisters dedicate their lives for! Come on out darling, it’s your time to shine… I Special Summon the one and only Dark Magician Girl!” 

Berry Magician Girl kneeled and crossed her arms in a defensive stance after waving her little wand into the air. (400 DEF) Pink glittering mist surrounded her before she pointed it to a monster zone next to her. The crowd watched with bated breath, knowing who was arriving.

“Here she comes!”

“It’s her! It’s her!”

“Mana’s favorite monster!”

Then, with a shower of hearts and stars appeared Mana’s favorite monster. She flew up while grasping her pink and blue wand as it pulled her in different directions like a wayward broomstick before it settled down and her feet hit the ground. She greeted the crowd with a smile and a wink, making the crowd erupt into yells and cheers.

At first glance, she looked quite similar to the duelist barring a few cosmetic changes. For one, her skin tone was pale compared to the tan Mana had, and her hair was blonde instead of brown. She wore a rather revealing blue magician’s outfit with pink trim from the rungs on her hat and her dress with a flared pink skirt. She placed a hand to her chest as the pentagram on the red amulet over her heart began to shine. (2000 ATK)

“Yeah, it’s her! Dark Magician Girl!” Someone cheered.

“We love you, Dark Magician Girl!” Another person shouted.

“Give us a smile, please?!” A young girl begged.

Dark Magician Girl did just that, winking at the crowd and sending them a kiss. The cheers were even louder.

“I never get tired of seeing that!” Yuya commented.

“Me neither,” Yuzu replied. She recalled a time when she dueled Mana at the You Show Duel School, and how Dark Magician Girl felt at home in the Action Field generated there, ready to make a spectacle compared to how Dark Magician was composed and silent, completely focused on attacking the opponent. The exact opposite of his apprentice. 

“So you have another monster out on the field, big whoop,” Shingo huffed. “Did you forget that Mobius is stronger than her?!”

“Not at all, however now you have a choice of two targets, so you either attack Berry Magician girl and I get no damage or Dark Magician girl and I get less Damage,” Mana said with a wink.

“Well isn’t it obvious?” asked Shingo. “Mobius, destroy Dark Magician Girl!”

“Boo! BOO!” The crowd jeered.

“Leave Dark Magician Girl alone, you heartless bastard!” someone shouted.

“Don’t destroy her!” Someone added.

Shingo’s eye twitched, clearly hating how much the crowd is rooting against him and is trying to protect his opponent. “So you want me to go and destroy an innocent baby instead?!”

At this Berry Magician Girl started to sniffle. Big tears filled her eyes before she began to wail and cover her face with her hands. Dark Magician Girl knelt, removed her hat, stuck her hand into it, and pulled out a Kuriboh. The Kuriboh cooed and nuzzled Berry Magician Girl, causing the toddler to stop crying, giggle and then pet the little furball, moving her little wand around to catch its attention.

“H-HOW DID SHE GET THAT KURIBOH?” Shingo shouted and his cheerleaders also looked shocked.

“It’s magic, she doesn’t have to explain it!” Téa replied.

The little furball scowled at Shingo while Berry Magician Girl hugged him tighter.

“Well it doesn’t matter,” Shingo muttered. “Cause I still have to decide who to target.”

“Don’t attack Dark Magician Girl!”

“No, don’t attack Berry!” Another fan argued. “She’s only a baby after all!”

And soon enough there was a big argument as to which monster Shingo shouldn’t fight and Mana’s friends all sweat-dropped at how childish the crowd was. Mana didn’t seem to mind. She seemed to enjoy the fighting!

“Now, now, he decides to choose who to attack, let’s not be unfair, a duel is a duel, after all, ~” Mana said, pacifying the crowd, even if they weren’t happy that Dark Magician Girl would get destroyed.

“Man, Mana’s playing the crowd like a cheap piano,” Joey muttered. “Yuya, ya might wanna take some notes from her.” 

Yuya chuckled. “True, she has such a dueltaining spirit. Everyone just loves her!”

“Yeah everyone except Shingo and his cheerleaders,” Yuzu noted. 

“Well he is dueling her, and the crowd is biased towards a beautiful girl like Mana and her pretty monsters,” Tristan noted.

“That won’t be the only thing that will make the crowd cheer on,” Atem chuckled. 

“What do you mean?” asked Yugi, tilting his head.

“Let’s just say that despite Mana’s carefree attitude, she has been working on improving her deck even more. She just obtained a ‘secret’ weapon that she was hoping to use soon, and this fool seems to be the perfect target.”

“Wait, you mean...him?” Yugi asked. 

Atem shook his head, knowing what Yugi meant and the horror that would settle on the field if that particular monster was summoned. “No, someone else. Watch, you’ll love this.” 

“You got this, Shingo!” Ootomo shouted.

“You can do it!” Mamabe added.

“I can and I will!” said Shingo. “Now Mobius, destroy Dark Magician Girl!”

Mobius raised his hands in front of him as he fired a flurry of snow and hail, ready to encase the perky magician in a cocoon of ice. Some groans and sighs, and also some cries came from the crowd, as the attack hit a cloud of dust covered the field so the monsters were invisible.

“Hmph!” Shingo said with a grin on his face. “That was too -- “

Suddenly, a shockwave hit Shingo, as his monster was destroyed by a bolt of black lightning and his life points decreased. “What the hell was that?!” he asked.

The dust cleared and Dark Magician Girl stood there triumphant with a scowl on her face, and her wand placed over her shoulder, while her other hand was placed on her hip. 

**(Shingo: 7500) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- (Mana: 8000)**

“HUH?!!!!” Shingo shouted. “But...but my monster was stronger! I know for a fact that Dark Magician Girl only gets power from a ‘Dark Magician’ or ‘Magician of Chaos’ in the graveyard. And, 1) you didn’t send either of those to the graveyard, and 2) she only gets 300 attack points for each one sent in the grave. How did she defeat my Mobius?!”

Mana giggled. “Yes my Dark Magician Girl indeed has that effect, but remember Berry Magician Girl’s first effect? It brought Kiwi Magician Girl to my hand and by discarding her, my Magician Girls gain 300 Attack and Defense points for every ‘Magician Girl’ with a different name in my field or graveyard, giving Dark Magician Girl 900 extra attack points.”

As if to emphasize this, the image of Kiwi Magician Girl briefly appeared, about a head taller than Dark Magician Girl, wearing teal and black magician robes, a horned headdress topped with a pink heart and lavender hair flowing down her back like a cape. Shingo then looked at the stats for Mana’s monsters and balked when he saw how they changed. (Berry Magician Girl: 400/400 -) 1300/1300, Dark Magician Girl: 2000/1700 -) 2900/2600)

“See everyone?” Mana said. “It’s okay! Dark Magician Girl can survive anything!” 

Mana jumped around happily with a charming smile on her face, as Dark Magician girl waved at them happily as if to say “I’m alright! See?” 

The crowd cheered again as Dark Magician Girl bowed.

Shingo narrowed his eyes as he stared at the cards in his hand. Oh, we’ll see about that. 

“I place one card face-down and end my turn,” Shingo declared as the stats of Mana’s monsters returned to normal.

“His field is empty of monsters,” Yuzu said, raising her eyebrow. 

“Wow, who saw that coming?” Yuya asked, considering how strong Mobius was. 

“I, the man Gongenzaka, did not,” Gongenzaka answered. “Mana has a lot of tricks up her sleeves.”

“See?” Joey asked. “No need to worry about Mana, she has everything under control.”

“Um… when and where did the crowd get the cardboard to make these signs?” Téa asked as a few people in the crowd were holding signs with various messages on it. “Go Mana go!” “You can do it!” “Make some magic!” “We love you, Dark Magician Girl!” Some had images of Mana and Dark Magician Girl on it, others were covered in stars and hearts.

“Oh...wow…” Bakura muttered.

Atem groaned and Yugi chuckled, resting his head on Atem’s shoulder. “At least it’s better than how the fangirls cheer you on.” 

“Please don’t remind me,” Atem said in a muffled voice as he had his face in his hands again.

“My turn! And I draw!” Mana said grinning. “First I summon Chocolate Magician Girl in attack mode!” 

From a shower of light and glitter another Magician Girl appeared with her arms wide open as if she was declaring her arrival, she smiled at the cheering crowd and grinned happily. She looked to be in her early teens, with long light blue hair that reached her waist, and her outfit was a dark blue tank top with a heart-shaped hole in the middle of it, blue skirt, and thigh-high boots. She brandished her equally blue wand and had her hip cocked out, her spare hand on it as she smirked at Shingo. (1600 ATK)

“And now Chocolate Magician Girl activates her effect! I’ll discard a Spellcaster monster in my hand to draw a card! What will it be folks? You’ll just have to wait to find out!”

Chocolate Magician Girl waved her wand as blue mist showered the field. Mana slipped a card from her hand to the graveyard and drew another one, eyes sparkling at what she received.

“Wait for a second,” Ootomo said.

“What now?” asked Shingo, turning to the pink-haired lackey.

“We have Berry and Kiwi and Chocolate Magician Girl,” Ootomo pointed out. “Why wasn’t her name changed to Coco Magician Girl instead? You know as a play on ‘Coconut’ but also Hot Cocoa?”

“Look I don’t have the time to debate stupid marketing decisions, okay? And I honestly couldn’t care less,” Shingo growled.

Mana grinned happily as she saw what the card was. “Alright folks, let’s get rid of Shingo’s entire field, shall we? I activate the spell card Mystical Space Typhoon! Which allows me to destroy a Spell or a Trap card on your field!” 

“Isn’t that a bit overkill?!” Yuya shouted. “Shingo doesn’t even have any monsters to defend himself!”

“This is the same girl who tried setting someone on fire for insulting Tea, remember?!” Joey replied.

“Besides its insurance that Shingo’s cards won’t affect her or destroy her monsters,” Yuzu said.

A large typhoon fired from the Quick-play Spell Card, destroying Shingo’s face-down card. Dark Magician Girl twirled her sand and placed it over her shoulder as the smoke cleared.

But, something was wrong...

**(Shingo: 8500) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- (Mana: 8000)**

“Huh?” asked Mana, scratching her head. “Why did your life points shoot up?”

“Because I had Emergency Provisions as my face-down card,” Shingo replied. “See, the great Shingo is prepared for any situation and you just wasted a pretty powerful card huh?” 

Mana giggled and rubbed the back of her head. “I guess I did. Oh well, mistakes have been made,” she said sticking her tongue out playfully. “Well, it didn’t matter. Either I destroyed your card or not, it left you open for a direct attack! So I’ll place Berry Magician Girl in Attack Mode…”

Berry Magician Girl floated into the air, raising her wand. (400 ATK)

“And then my Dark-Berry-Chocolate Magician Girl Trinity attack begins!” Mana shouted and the crowd went wild. Dark Magician Girl pointed her wand towards Shingo, and a pink energy attack hit him. Chocolate Magician girl created a ball of light in her hand before shooting it at Shingo, and finally, Berry Magician Girl flew right to Shingo with great speed through the use of her wings… and slapped his head with her staff before flying back to her sisters who praised Berry for going after that evil monster. 

**(Shingo: 4500) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- (Mana: 8000)**

“Laugh all you want,” Shingo muttered, rubbing her head from where Berry Magician Girl whacked him. She may have been a baby but that wand was pretty strong. “But I’m getting the last laugh right here!”

“We’ll see about that, I place a card face down,” said Mana, placing another card in the duel desk slot. “Your move!”

“It is indeed,” said Shingo, drawing his card. “And, just a bit of forewarning, I’m going to be summoning that Monarch I got the last turn.”

“But how?” asked Yuya. “Shingo doesn’t control a monster.”

“Right, he doesn’t,” Kakimoto said before pointing to Mana. “But she does.”

“Huh?”

“I play the card known as The Monarchs Stormforth!” Shingo announced. “With this card, if I decide to Tribute Summon this turn, I’m allowed to use my opponent’s monsters! Oh, and by the way, it’s not a targeting effect!.”

Shingo played his card, depicting Zaborg the Lighting Monarch within a large hurricane.

“That’s...not good.” Yuya pointed out.

“Not good for her,” Shingo said, pointing at Berry Magician Girl. “I don’t want any more Special summoned Magician Girls so she goes bye-bye to the graveyard.”

Berry Magician Girl looked in horror as a dark portal appeared beneath her feet. She tried to fly away, but a ghastly hand grabbed her ankle and started to drag her in. She began to cry out in terror, fat tears trickling down her cheeks as Dark Magician Girl and Chocolate Magician Girl tried to save her...but to no avail. The dark hand sucked her in, leaving only her staff behind.

“NOT THE BABY!!!!” A little girl shouted, also starting to cry.

Chocolate Magician Girl and Dark Magician Girl glared daggers at Shingo, preparing their wands as if they were axes to slice his head off. 

“Come forth, Caius the Shadow Monarch!” Shingo announced.

From the darkness, a figure black as night emerged in spikes on its shoulders, a black and grey tattered cape, and leering red eyes. In between the palms of its hands, his fingers red and sharp enough to slice someone’s arm off, was a large black orb of energy. (2400 ATK)

“Oh boy…” Mana muttered. 

“And it gets so much worse,” Shingo added. “For you see, if Caius was Tribute Summoned, I’m allowed to target a card and then Banish it!”

A black portal appeared above the heads of Mana’s monsters, with both magicians clinging onto each other in fear. Shingo grinned, loving how terrified those girls looked.

“Oh, and one more thing, if the card I banished was a DARK monster, then you lose a thousand life points!”

Mana’s eyes widened and the crowd gasped. Shingo chuckled. “So say goodbye to your precious Dark Magician Girl!” 

Caius opened his arms as the dark portal began to glow. Dark Magician Girl looked up and had enough time to scream as she was sucked inside, and the hole winked out. A blast of black lightning struck Mana’s Duel Disk, causing her to help in pain.

**(Shingo: 4500) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- (Mana: 7000)**

“And now since I got rid of two Magician Girls, I think it’s time to-” 

“Hold it!” Mana interrupted.

“What?” Shingo asked, thinking she might activate her Trap Card now. 

Mana smirked. “Well Mister Sawatari, thanks to your targeting effect, I can now debut one of my newest girls. You see since you used an effect that targets a Spellcaster I can summon her from my hand... or the grave!” 

“A new monster?”

“Another Magician Girl?!”

“Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!”

Mana nodded her head as she stretched her hand out. “Rise from the grave and come to the field, I now Special Summon Palladium Oracle Mana !”

With a shower of light, the new spellcaster rose, her eyes were closed at first, with a soft smile on her face, she had short brown hair, with a darker skin tone, with a golden tiara on her head, golden cuffs, a color scheme of black blue and pink, her robe was slit on both sides to the mid of her thighs, showing her legs. When she opened her eyes she held a confident smirk on her face. She also had a purple Kuriboh perched on her shoulder. (2000 ATK)

“It’s a monster that looks like Mana!”

“Who designed her?”

“Where can I get a copy of her?”

“Why does she look like she came from Egypt?”

“She’s so beautiful!” 

Yuzu’s eyes widened, a card that looked exactly like Mana? Was this simply a case of the artist using Mana or was she made from a historic? Palladium Oracle Mana winked at the crowd smiling happily and soaking up the attention. 

“Well, from what I heard, the story says that this is the apprentice of the great court magician, Mahad,” Mana began, her voice calm and collected instead of perky and upbeat. “After his sacrifice to stay as the guardian to his Pharaoh, he became the Dark Magician, and once Mana herself unlocked her true potential she became who we know now as the Dark Magician Girl herself,” 

“Mahad? Does she mean her older brother?” Yuya asked. 

“Beats me,” Gongenzaka replied. “I mean, it’s just a coincidence that her brother and she have the same names as the one in her story.”

“Nice story,” Shingo commented. “But it won’t stop my attack. And just to make sure I activate my Spell Card Frost Blast of the Monarchs!”

He played his Spell Card, showing Mobius the Frost Monarch firing an icy blast at a target.

“Since I control a monster with 2400 ATK and 1000 DEF, then this allows me to destroy a Set card you control. So, now that Trap is on thin ice!”

“Ah phooey…” Mana said with a pout.

“Why the heck are those Spells so specific?” Tristan asked. “I mean, there can't be that many monsters outside the Monarchs with 2400 ATK and 1000 DEF.”

No one could answer as a large chunk of ice flew out of the card and shattered Mana’s face-down card (Call of the Earthbound, not that it mattered at this point).

“Ah, damn it,” Mana said, crossing her arms with a small pout.

“And since I know your Magician Girls have different abilities if I attack them, I’m not going after dear Coco. Instead...go Caius, destroy that oracle now!”

Caius fired a blast of black fire towards Palladium Oracle Mana. The LIGHT Spellcaster couldn’t defend herself or her Kuriboh pal from being destroyed.

**(Shingo: 4500) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- (Mana: 6600)**

“And since Mana was destroyed--”

“BOO! You suck, Sawatari!” Came from the crowd. 

Chocolate Magician Girl giggled even though she was the only one left on the field. It would’ve been a different story if Shingo attacked her.

Mana bit her lip as not to laugh. “Well then Shingo, since you destroyed Mana I get to summon a Dark Magician Girl from my hand, my deck, or my graveyard.”

“What?! But...but I banished her!” Shingo exclaimed. 

“Yes you did, but I have another one in my deck. Come on Dark Magician Girl! Time for an encore!”

The second Dark Magician Girl arrived in a pink magic seal, but she didn’t look happy or playful. She looked rather pissed, as she narrowed her eyes at Shingo. (2000 ATK)

“Wow, she looks angry,” Yuya said. 

“Yeah, she was summoned via Mana’s destruction,” Tristan said. “And Shingo did banish her and used a baby as a sacrifice.”

“Whatever,” said Shingo.” Your Dark Magician Girl is still not strong enough. Caius is stronger. As long as I make sure not to target the other Magician Girls, you can’t do anything to stop me! So I end my turn there, and soon enough I’m gonna be going out on a date with this Magical Lady!” 

“Go get her, Shingo!/You can do it!/She’s yours!” Shingo’s cronies chanted.

“Either he’s trying to save face, or he is an idiot.” Yuzu surmised.

“What do you mean? Gogenzaka asked. 

“He only has one monster with no protection at all.”

“So?” Gogenzaka asked.

“So... Do you have any idea how easy it is to get Dark Magician Girl stronger?”

“...Very?” Gogenzaka asked. 

“Yep. Shingo knows he’s doomed; he just doesn’t want to admit it,” Yuzu said with a shrug. 

“My turn! I draw!” Mana declared and smiled. It seems like it was time for the finale and everyone could see that they were going to be in for a show. She turned to everyone and brought her arm out and exclaimed, “Well everyone! It’s been a blast, but now it’s time to end this duel once and for all! And just for you, my lovely fans, let’s go above and beyond simply destroying a single monster!” 

The crowd, having no idea what was going to happen next, got excited. All they knew was that Mana was sure of her victory, and they were about to see something grand. 

“Here she is,” Atem said with a smirk. 

“Hmm?” Yugi asked, looking at Atem before looking back at Mana once more. 

“Oh come on, you’ve gotta be bluffing. Just put your monsters in defense mode or whatever,” Shingo said, doing his best not to hide that he was screwed.

Mana laughed. “Nah, that’s not gonna be necessary,” she said confidently. Dark Magician Girl looked back at her and nodded with a smirk that Mana returned. “First! I sacrifice Chocolate Magician Girl to summon Apprentice Illusion Magician! Say hello everyone!” 

Chocolate Magician Girl waved goodbye to the crowd as she waved her wand into the air and was surrounded by blue sparkling mist. Then, when the mist dispersed, a new pretty Spellcaster appeared with dark skin, long silver hair, and wore a purple version of Dark Magician Girl’s outfit. She looked a bit more reserved than Dark Magician Girl as she just bowed towards everyone. (2000 ATK)

“She’s not that scary,” Kakimoto pointed out.

“Yeah she’s got the same stats as Dark Magician Girl,” Mamabe added.

“She’s a friend lending a hand,” said Mana. “Now, since she was summoned, Apprentice Illusion Magician allows me to take a ‘Dark Magician’ from my deck to my hand.”

Apprentice Illusion Magician waved her wand as Mana took a card to her hand, so she now had two cards.

“There’s no way you can summon him at this point in the duel,” Shingo observed. “After all, not only did you already use your Normal Summon, but he needs two tributes to bring him onto the field. All you have are two Level 6 ladies that are gonna be beaten black and blue thanks to Caius.”

“How observant! All I have are two Level 6 spellcasters,” Mana reiterated.

“Wait...what?” Shingo asked, taken back by her response. “What the heck can you do with two weak monsters of the same le--” His eyes widened in surprise as he remembered something at the Duel School he attended, LDS. Something that the narcissistic prick Hokuto Shima excelled at. And that’s when he realized what Mana was about to do. “Oh no, oh no, oh NO!!!!!” He screamed, gripping onto his hair.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Mana announced, dropping to her knees as she motioned to her two monsters with her hands. “With my Level 6 Apprentice Illusion Magician and Dark Magician Girl…” She grinned and rose to the air as she shouted, “I shall build the Overlay Network !”

“What?” Someone shouted. 

“The Overlay Network?”

“She’s XYZ Summoning?” 

“That’s amazing....”

“Wait! You know how to Xyz Summon? Since when?” Shingo yelled. Kakimoto, Ootomo, and Mamabe clung to each other in fear. 

“Oh wow!” Yuya yelled. It reminded him too much of when he would see his father play his signature monster to the crowd.

“This duel has just been full of surprises,” Gongenzaka declared. “Your father would be proud, Yuya.”

Apprentice Illusion Magician and Dark Magician Girl nodded at each other as the Overlay Unit opened, dark, and filled with stars. The two monsters became shining beams of pink light as they got sucked into the portal. Then a large pink beam of light shone from the center as Mana smirked.

“From the darkness, I invoke thee, the power of the apprentices calls forth to your existence, rise, and take control. Xyz Summon! Rank 6! Make your glorious debut, Magi Magi ☆ Magician Gal!” 

When the pink light vanished, a new spellcaster emerged with a pink magical seal behind her. She looked like an older Dark Magician Girl but she wore black with gold trim instead of blue and pink while the base of her wand was also black. She also had a pink ankh tattooed in between her collar bones and two Overlay Units spinning around her. (2400 ATK)

“Wow~”

“She’s beautiful!”

“I wonder who made these cards?”

“Woohoo!” Yugi yelled. “Look at that! So are these a gift from him?” Yugi asked and Atem nodded. 

“His latest research into the history of Duel Monsters has gotten him inspired to say the least,” Atem answered.

Yugi’s smile widened. Atem, Mana, and Mahad’s guardian, or as they like to refer to him, their uncle, had an obsession with understanding the history of Duel Monsters and would constantly use his painting skills to create them into cards. Most recently he had found that Duel Monsters originated as far back as a lost civilization called the kingdom of Egypt, and the stories he wrote back to Atem were like magic. His money allowed him to leave his company and travel to Egypt along with his wife to make more research, and he gifted Mana, Atem, Mahad, and even Yugi himself some wonderful cards. Last time they spoke, said uncle was promising more cards for Joey in the future in regards to a king of a tribe of dragons with red eyes and black scales.

“That’s the monster that is going to defeat me?” Shingo huffed. “For one thing, she looks the same as the regular Dark Magician Girl and another is that her attack points are tied with Caius! They’re going to kill each other if they attack.”

“That’s if they attack, which they won’t~”

“Huh?” Shingo asked confused. Magi Magi ✩ Magical Gal smirked at Shingo, with her wand resting on her shoulder. 

“I activate my Magical Gal’s special ability! If I detach an Overlay Unit on her and banish a card in my hand, she takes control of one of your monsters until the end of my turn.”

“B-but if you do that, that means…!” Shingo gasped, realizing just what was about to happen.

“It means this duel is finished, do it, Magical Gal!” Mana commanded, making one of her cards banish by placing her hand over it.

Magi Magi ✩ Magical Gal grabbed one of the Overlay Units flying around her and crushed it in her hand, turning it into stardust. She then threw the dust in the air as everyone watched it settle down onto Caius the Shadow Monarch. There was a pause before Caius flew towards Mana’s side of the field where the Xyz Spellcaster smirked and kissed his cheek.

“No! Caius!” Shingo yelled. 

“Now both of my monsters attack you! Ready, set, go!”

Both monsters raised their hands into the air, forming large orbs of shadows that successfully merged into one. Shingo looked in horror as he knew he had nothing to save himself as the orb was fired straight at him. There was an explosion that covered him in smoke before he fell to the ground with a tired groan.

**(Shingo: 0) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- (Mana: 6600)**

“Yeah!” Mana cheated jumping in the air with Magical Gal giving Shingo the peace sign. The crowd yelled excitedly at the wonderful duel. 

The holograms disappeared with the end of the duel as Shingo rose, in disbelief at what happened. His deck was flawless! It should’ve been strong enough to defeat those magician girls!

“H-how?” Shingo asked, hands shaking, as Mana winked and a pink heart coyly appeared over her head. She then sent a kiss to the crowd who were cheering and clapping loudly.

“Well, that didn’t last long,” Tristan remarked. “But you gotta hand it to the kid, he was able to get Dark Magician Girl off the field for a while and damaged Mana’s life points a little.”

“That’s true,” said Bakura. “If he just worked on his skills a little more, those Monarchs could become a formidable threat.”

“Now then, Mister Sawatari,” Mana said with a tilt to her head. “You have a promise to uphold, remember?”

“Fine, fine,” Shingo sighed as he stood up. If there was anything noble about Shingo Sawatari was that he always kept his word. “I’m nowhere near your level…”

“See?” said Mana. “That wasn’t hard to -- “

“But mark my words!” Shingo interrupted. “I will prevail from this loss and shine bright! There’s more where that comes from! And besides...at least I’m leagues better than the son of that coward Yusho Sakaki! “

Yuzu aimed a punch to Shingo’s stomach at the name of Yusho Sakaki, causing him to drop to his knees, wheezing for breath. 

“What the hell?” Kakimoto shouted.

“What’s the big idea?” Mamabe added.

Atem sensed something off, narrowing his eyes a bit he pulled Yugi closer and squeezed his shoulder.

“Shingo insulting my best friend is the big idea, you assholes!” Yuzu replied. “For god’s sake get over yourself already, you’re so pathetic.” 

“You know if she didn’t do it, I would have,” Joey said, calmly looking at the scene Yuzu created. 

“Yeah, she’s right,” Téa said. “Yuya had nothing to do with this, and you just found a way to put someone down so you could feel bigger. It is pathetic. And besides, you still haven’t apologized to Yugi.”

“I...well, I…” Shingo gritted his teeth. 

“Apologize to my friends now. A deal is a deal,” Mana said, crossing her arms. 

Shingo sighed. “Fine. It was a deal,” Shingo turned to Yugi. “I’m sorry about the dart.”

“It’s okay,” Yugi said. “It didn’t hurt at all.”

“And for calling him a lowly starfish,” Mana pressed. 

“And for...calling you a lowly starfish,” Shingo muttered under his breath.

Yugi smiled softly and shrugged. “It’s fine,” he said with a nod. 

“You forgot someone,” Yuzu said. “Apologize to Yuya now .”

“Why should I? He hasn’t proved himself as anything yet,” Shingo countered. 

“Why you --!” Yuzu growled. 

“Let’s see him win a duel and then we’ll see about me apologizing. Let’s go boys,” Shingo called to his minions, and the four of them proceeded to leave the large number of students who were muttering at how the mayor’s son was the real coward around. 

“Asshole,” Joey called as the crowd crowded around Mana, cheering her for her victory against Shingo and asking how she learned Xyz Summoning so quickly.

“Thanks, Mana, but it was no big deal,” Yugi said. “Well about me that is. You okay Yuya?” he asked, turning to the younger boy. 

Yuya paused for a minute and then replied with a smile of his own. “Yeah, I’m okay. It hurts but not as much as it used to,” he said looking up at Joey who grinned at him and ruffled his hair affectionately.

“Just remember that it don’t matter about what people say about you or your dad. What matters is how you think about yourself.” 

Yuya grinned back at Joey gratefully. The blond was older than Yuya and Yuzu by two years but was considered an honorary big brother to them. The first time they met, it had been a year and a half after Yusho disappeared. Yuya was crying as he was surrounded by three others who were taunting him about his father’s cowardice. And like Gongenzaka Joey had stepped in. The blond wasn’t big like his other friend, but he was just as strong and fierce. He drove Yuya’s bullies away using nothing but a soda can and got Yuya home safe and sound. Yoko Sakaki, Yuya’s mother, had been grateful and offered him to stay for dinner. 

As the days went by, Joey had become closer to Yuya. He introduced the red-eyed boy to his group of friends and his own little sister Serenity who was Yuya’s age and was also learning how to become a duelist. Joey told Yuya to ask them anything and not to be afraid about it. They were all quite surprised to find Yuya breaking down into tears and doing his best to hide his pain, but Joey Wheeler could tell that the smile was quite hollow. 

Now Joey had never met Yusho but he knew of Yusho’s skills at being a duelist, how he could make an entire audience watch in awe and glee at his dueling, and of the day Yusho left before his match against the Champion Strong Ishijima where the audience who once cheered him on now turned their backs against him. It took some doing, but the blond teen told Yuya that while he was allowed to love his father but he was also allowed to be angry at him, even allowed to hate him and miss him. It was difficult -- especially for Joey considering he’d trade Yuya’s dad for his abusive one any day of the week -- but soon enough Yuya learned that he didn’t have to feel so alone any more.

Yuya had cried openly into Joey’s arms, after years of Yusho being gone, after children bullying and laughing at him, after friends being around when he had no idea what he did to deserve this. Yuya finally cried, he cried and screamed, tears falling down his face as he told Joey that he tried to follow his Father’s advice, tried to keep smiling, tried to keep everyone happy, that he wanted his Father’s advice to be worth all this pain. 

“Fathers don’t always know what’s best. They’re human, they can be wrong, they can be bad, they can harm you, whether accidentally or not. Your dad hurt ya Yuya, it’s okay ta be angry and hurt. It’s okay to hate him. It’s okay to love him, but it’s not okay for you to lie about it ta yerself. You’re not responsible for his mistakes. You need to live ya own life. He may be gone, but ya still here.” 

Yuya took those words to heart. Yoko even noticed that Yuya held his head up high most days and that his smiles felt warmer than usual. Yuya no longer clowned around in class and she wasn’t going to the principal's office so often either. Sure he still tried to goof off when it came to his dueling, but that was just him being an entertainer at heart. It warmed her heart a lot to see her son being genuinely happy, that most of the taunts and teasing didn’t get to him anymore. 

Her heart broke when she saw him openly cry but she would take that over Yuya bottling up everything inside and lying to her and himself. At night, Yoko would take Yuya into her arms and hug him tightly until he cried his heart out, and finally gave her a weak, but true smile. It made the times waiting for Yusho much easier to go through; especially since she was working two part-time jobs to pay the bills nowadays.

Yoko couldn’t thank Joey and his friends enough for everything they did for her boy. When she learned about Joey’s predicament, she began contacting her old “friends” back as her days as Shooting Star Yoko to see if they could help him get a job or find a cheap apartment for him to get away from his dad. When that failed, Yoko decided to gift him something on his birthday: his bedroom in the Sakaki residence.

To say that Joey was moved by this was an understatement. He probably wept more than Yuya ever did in the past few years, just so touched by Yoko’s kindness. Yoko hugged the blond boy tightly, happily welcoming him to the family. And to repay that kindness, Joey decided he’d work part-time at Yusho’s Duel School, giving lessons on fighting, using your wits and learning about taking risks. Serenity begged her mother to let her enroll in the school after she witnessed Joey and Yuya fight in an Action Duel.

Her mother sighed and relented, letting Serenity into the school and telling Joey to make sure his sister stayed safe. While You Show was not as well off as LDS, it had some good students to its name, and with Joey working along with his friends coming in to supply lessons, it seemed as if the You Show Duel’s recognition as one of the first schools dedicated to Action Dueling was being rebuilt.

The cheers died down a few minutes later, and so Tristan and Bakura continued to finish their game of Capsule Monsters with predictably Bakura winning. By the end of lunch, everyone returned to their classrooms and most of them moved on from the duel.

Well, not everyone. 

Atem could feel it within his very soul as he saw Yuya, Yuzu and Gongenzaka walk off. Something was wrong with Yuzu; he couldn’t put his hand on it, but she seemed… not herself as if danger was lurking in her heart. He could feel something that felt he couldn't name. It felt like tar clogging his mind, slimy and disgusting, sticking onto his soul. 

“Atem?” Yugi asked, feeling Atem’s unease. It was something Yugi couldn’t explain. Ever since he had met Atem, they've both had a certain connection, something no one understood or could figure out. Yugi and Atem were very in tune with one another; they could always sense the other in the back of their minds like a consistent safe presence. It wasn’t exactly unpleasant; simply strange and unexplained. 

Atem smiled softly at Yugi, not wanting Yugi to feel like something was wrong. “I’m fine Yugi, just… thinking, that’s all.” 

Yugi wasn’t convinced, though. He moved closer, wrapping his arms around Atem’s arm and kissed his cheek. “Tell me what’s wrong. Please, Atem.”

“You wouldn’t believe -- “

“Yes I would,” Yugi said with a sweet sincere smile, making Atem return it, feeling his heart skip a beat at how adorable his sweet boyfriend was.

“I...sensed something, something not quite right with Yuzu,” Atem began, the words sounding strange even for him.

“What do you mean by that?” Yugi asked, raising his eyebrow as they continued to walk together to their next class.

Atem sighed, wishing he didn’t sense it at all. “I’m not sure yet. It’s probably nothing but…”

“But you are worried,” Yugi concluded. 

Atem looked at Yugi once more and sighed. “Yeah, I am.” 

“So we’ll just be cautious,” Yugi said and Atem blinked a few times. “We tell our friends but don’t act too different around her in case what you sense is dangerous. We don’t want to frighten her. No matter what, Yuzu is still our friend.” 

Atem’s smile widened before pressing his cheek affectionately to Yugi’s. “What did I ever do to deserve you?” 

“You were just you, that’s all.” 

At this, Yugi giggled as various students began to notice the intimacy, closeness, and easiness the two boys have together. A few heads tilted, eyes widened and narrowed, while the King of Games and his boyfriend continued, happy in their little bubble of love.

**0-0-0-0-0-0**

“Honestly,” Mana said when school was over hours later. The little café that she and Téa sat in, ‘Little Bit of Bubbles’ was known for making some of the best bubble milk tea around and Thai based meals. “That mayor’s kid is an absolute prince charmless!”

Téa sighed, just as the waiter set a plate of pad thai for her and Mana. “Tell me about it, and isn’t he younger than us?” 

“Yep!” Mana said, sipping her brown sugar milk bubble tea. “He’s never going to get far if he keeps using his daddy’s position and money to get what he wants.”

“Well you and Yuzu showed him he’s not gonna get away with running his mouth off without consequences, let’s hope he takes that one to heart.”

“Yeah,” Mana said, taking another sip of her drink. “Ah, but things have gotten quite...boring recently. I’ve beaten every single duelist who either wants to date me or get in a good word with Atem. The only ones I haven’t managed to beat are my brothers and Yugi.”

“Too bad for them, Atem is taken,” Téa said. “You have no idea how sick I am of hearing girls talking about Atem’s gorgeous blood eyes, his sun-kissed skin, his deep voice like maple syrup in my ears …” 

Mana was doing her best not to burst to laugh, but her shoulders were shaking from her giggles. “Yeah, poor you.”

“Not gonna lie I get it, your brother is gorgeous, but the number of times I heard all that babbling about Atem in the girl’s locker room would drive me insane one day,” Téa remarked. “Although, I kinda admit the first time I saw him I thought he looked like a vampire!”

(Unbeknownst to the two girls, a woman in a black outfit raised her eyebrow at this)

Mana chuckled. “Seriously? How?”

“The blood-red eyes, the smirk that looks like he has fangs, that voice that just enthralls those who listen to it, oh, and he wears black leather.” 

Mana snorted. “Gods, someone was reading too much Vampire Knight, or was it just vampire movies in general?” 

Téa shrugged. “Your brother has that mysterious aura to him, I don’t know. And how he immediately connected to Yugi? It’s like they can read each other’s minds sometimes. Have you never thought about how weird that is? He is your twin. I mean I know about the ‘games’ and all but you have to admit even you find it a bit strange.” 

Mana’s eyes slid to the side in thought. “Yeah, it is kinda weird, like I don’t understand what it’s about, but the two seem happy and at ease about it, so it doesn’t concern me so much,” she shrugged in response. 

At this time, Yugi, Atem, Joey, Tristan, and Bakura returned from the game shop, with Bakura and Yugi having a bag in his hand. Joey and Tristan were more interested in the menu.

“Hey, I see Bakura and Yugi bought more games,” Mana noticed. 

“Yeah, the shop was filled with new things that we wanted to try out, maybe in our next game night,” Bakura said. 

“Yeah sounds fun,” Téa nodded. Ryou was into a tabletop RPG called Monster World and once a week, everyone gathered to explore the adventures Ryou planned out as the Game Master. It was quite fun...even if Ryou had some macabre tastes to his storytelling.

The five boys sat down, Tristan and Joey arguing about what to order, Bakura inspecting one of the new Monster World figurines he bought with Yugi and Atem next to each other and started chattering. After Joey finally got the order down, he realized something.

“So when’s Duke coming back from his business trip?” Joey asked. 

“I think he said in a week or so,” Tristan answered. “I mean, it’s not easy juggling schoolwork and running a company.”

Atem was smiling softly before taking Yugi’s wrist and kissing his hand, making Yugi blush softly. It was just a nice day for all of them, their friends, and loved ones. 

Mana giggled. “Why are you being so touchy today, brother?”

Atem rolled his eyes. “What? I can’t show my boyfriend affection?” 

“You’re just a little more touchy than usual that’s all,” Mana said. “I’m just wondering what’s up.”

Atem shrugged. “It’s just us being happy in love.”

“Keep that up and we might get jealous,” Téa said with a giggle.

“I can’t wait till I get to have an epic showdown of my own!” Joey said with a sigh. “I hope that uncle of yours is coming soon, though. Can’t wait to get more cards and HEYWHATTHE!”

A blonde girl wearing a long black blouse held by a corset, and a matching black skirt suddenly sauntered towards the table before she sat between Yugi and Atem. Her hair was pulled back by a sleek black hairband and her eyes held some mystifying look.

“Hey!” Yugi said.

“What the hell?” Mana asked, outraged at the stranger, but the girl ignored her. 

“Such pretty ruby eyes,” the girl purred, placing two fingers, both of them painted black and filed to points, underneath Atem’s chin. “You really would be perfect .”

“Um… what?” Atem asked dumbly. Sure he’s had girls -- and guys -- hit on him before, but this girl was getting a bit too close to his bubble. 

“Hey lady, what's the big idea?” Joey asked.

“I want you,” the girl purred again leaning very closely and uncomfortably into Atem who wasn’t amused by the strange girl’s antics. 

Yugi scowled. “Hey, stop that!” he shouted, grabbing her shoulder and yanking her back. The girl hissed at Yugi for touching her. “What’s the big idea of you getting close to my boyfriend?” 

“How dare you touch me?!” The girl asked outraged.

“Hey, you’re the one who came here like you own the place!” Yugi snapped back, narrowing his eyes. “Who are you? What do you mean you ‘want Atem’?” 

The girl got off the table. “My name is Tilla Mook, and it’s easy enough to understand, isn’t it? I want Atem to be mine.”

“Sorry, he’s taken,” Yugi said, narrowing his eyes at her. 

“By you? Such an ordinary boy,” Tilla remarked with a disgusted look on her face. 

“Now listen-!” Atem began but Tilla interrupted him. 

“Tell you what, how about we duel for him? If you win, I’ll leave you alone, but if I win…” Her eyes grew bigger with certain insanity that made shivers run down Yugi’s back. “He becomes my very own prince, Vampire Prince that is.”

“Okay...what?” Ryou asked.

“When did this turn into a damn horror anime all of a sudden? This girl is weird as hell,” Joey muttered before turning to Yugi. “You don’t have ta do this Yug, we’ll get the crazy girl off yer backs.”

“Yeah!” Tristan agreed. 

“Now hold on,” Mana stopped them, standing up. 

“Eh?” The three boys looked at Mana as if she grew a second head. 

“She did challenge Yugi for Atem right?” Mana questioned. “Why not see where that goes? After all, when Yugi wins--” 

“As if!” Tilla said smugly, preparing her Duel Disk as black as her outfit. “The little wisp of a boy couldn’t possibly-”

“ When he wins, Atem would be free of her harassment forever right?” 

Tilla growled but nodded. “Right.”

“I’m not a damsel in distress, Mana!” Atem growled.

“Oh come on Atem, please~ just let Yugi handle this, it’ll be fun to watch.” Mana sighed. “Yugi being the one to save his prince from the evil sorceress. Oh, how romantic!”

“Mana!” Atem growled in warning, and Mana pouted. Seconds later, Atem groaned and rolled his eyes. “Fine,” he said and Mana cheered. “If Yugi wants to duel her he can. But I’m not tolerating this again, I’m not a prize to be won.” 

Yugi chuckled softly before placing a kiss on Atem’s lips and gave him a wink. 

Tilla and Yugi walked until they stood across from each other and activated their Duel Disks. Other people stopped what they were doing and looked at the two duelists ready to fight.

“You’re going down kid,” Tilla said narrowing her eyes. “Such a soul like you is not worthy of my Vampire Prince!”

Yugi didn’t respond and simply activated his Duel Disk and drew five cards. This wasn’t the first time someone tried to challenge him over being Atem’s “special someone”, and he hoped this was the last time this girl tried this stunt. 

Yugi’s friends watched from the sidelines as the duel began. Mana grinned wanting to see a great duel, while Atem stood there crossing his arms, with narrow eyes and an annoyed expression. 

“ Duel” Both duelists shouted. 

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

The airplane reached the airport on time, the trip was exhausting and yet quite filled with its level of enjoyment, of course being on their airplane, and spending the time with his wife would make an exhausting trip simply a happy moment. It would be even better when he finally was able to tell everyone all of the stories and adventures he had, and the presents he brought just for them. 

As the man and his wife walked down the staircase with their luggage being carried by the hired help. The two of them walked inside until they found the limo driver that was waiting for them. 

“Welcome back,” The limo driver said with a bow. “I take it your flight was fine.”

“It was,” The man replied. “Although the entertainment was quite dull. I watched every film they had at least twice already!”

“Well, I already took the liberty to prepare you with some reading material for your ride to the hotel.”

“Is it Yotsuba ?” The man said, his eyes wide with delight.

“Yes.”

“Splendid! Time to enjoy everything!”

As the man quickly went inside the limo with a skip in his step, his wife with lovely blond hair, wearing an elegant blue gown, took her phone from her purse and dialed an all too familiar number, and got into the limo as well. And with a cheery voice and a smile, she greeted the man on the other end of the phone. 

“Mahad, dear, your uncle and I have arrived…” 


	4. My kiss of Trust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're back with Zero hour! Been a while huh? I've been pretty busy having essays to do. Hopefully you like this chapter cause we really had fun writing it. 
> 
> Anyway We have a few things to add and ask. First of all I'm gonna have to apologize, originally we wanted to write a smut or at least a pretty hot scene between Atem and Yugi, but apparently Vampires aren't as hot as they used to be to us that it was boring and we had to scrap the whole thing, so instead you get soft Blindshipping in this chapter, sorry guys. 
> 
> Now we have two important questions to give to you guys since we can't really decide and we wanted your opinion. 
> 
> First, we're debating if we should or shouldn't do Tendershipping. (If some of you don't know what that is it's BakuraXYami Bakura) and we wanted to know if you guys would wanna read us adding that character in, please comment and tell us
> 
> Second, Atem, Mana and Mahad need a last name, give us your suggestions.
> 
> We hope you enjoy this. Please Comment.
> 
> Edited on 20/09/2020
> 
> A subplot was removed from this chapter, the Puzzle will no longer be a thing, I'm sorry, but I do need to focus on the Yu-boys and Bracelet girls more and I already did not give enough time for either Yuzu or Yuya.

_14-year-old Ray laid on her bed, reading one of her fantasy novels. She had been bored out of her mind all day. Her parents had decided to work from home today, which in some families might have meant that her parents would spend the time together or with her at least spend lunch with her and discuss how they’ve been doing. In truth, it just meant her dad had a quick breakfast then immediately went straight to work in his office while her mother had to entertain some people in a conference call. This also meant that Ray had to be stuck all day in her room ‘studying.’_

_Ray sighed and placed her book on the ground beside her bed before laying on her back, and groaned. What she wouldn’t do to get out of the house, but her mother would see her leave and then make sure she stayed in her room indefinitely. She covered her face with a pillow and screamed into it, just wanting to leap out of the window and fly away to paradise._

_Seconds passed before Ray heard tapping on her window, she removed the pillow from her face to see someone was throwing tiny stones at her window, enough to get her attention but not to break the window itself._

_Ray opened the window and smiled at the boy who she saw. He waved at her before he motioned for her to jump down. Ray chuckled silently, her room was on the second story, but the silver-haired boy just opened his arms promising Ray to catch her._

_Ray looked back at her door before looking down again and climbing her window before jumping down right into the boy’s arms who caught her as always._

_Zarc placed Ray down as the two of them ran away from Ray’s house laughing. The two of them walked together until they reached the city’s park, and headed for a spot between the pushes._

_Zarc laid on his back and stretched his arms, making Ray giggle and lean in to kiss him._

_“Hey Sunshine,” Zarc said with a chuckle._

_“Hello,” Ray replied and Zarc grinned before sitting up and placing a kiss on his own on Ray’s lips._

_Zarc laid back on his back and Ray laid on his chest. “Bad day?” he asked._

_“Boring day. Ugh, I’m gonna kill my parents one of these days.”_

_Zarc laughed, “Just say the word and I'll help you hide the bodies.”_

_“Oh I know,” Ray replied before pushing herself off of Zarc. “So, how about one duel? I’ve been aching for a challenge.”_

_“Yes because we haven’t dueled in years,” Zarc replied sarcastically._

_“Was that a ‘No’ from the self-proclaimed Future Duel King?” Ray teased. “I guess you concede then~.”_

_Zarc grinned and pulled Ray towards him before he began to tickle her, making her shriek. “Fine but if I win you buy me Ice cream for the next week.”_

_“And if I win, you do my English homework for a week.”_

_“Sounds fair, you’re own!”_

_Both of them smirked as they stood up and got their Duel Desks ready._

_“Duel!”_

_…_

_…_

_…_

_“Go Hecate! Direct attack!” The Siren monster flew towards Zarc knocking him back. Zarc fell down and his life points went down to zero._

_The holograms disappeared as Ray ran towards Zarc and offered him a hand. “That makes it 3-3,” They were in the backyard of Zarc’s house, he and Ray had headed there after school was over and had been dueling ever since._

_Zarc smirked and took Ray’s hand only for him to pull her down and catch her in his arms, letting her sit in his lap, and ran his hand through her hair._

_“If this keeps going, we’re going to spend your sixteenth birthday dueling,” Zarc pointed out, placing a kiss on Ray’s lips._

_Ray simply leaned into Zarc’s body. “Beats being home alone with my parents pretending like they’ll be home soon, only to break that promise, again.”_

_“Do they even know you’re out?”_

_“Yeah, just not with you,” Ray replied._

_“Ah still ashamed of me I see,” Zarc joked, prompting Ray to slap his chest playfully, before placing a kiss on her nick, making Ray giggle as Zarc continues to place butterfly kisses over her neck and cheeks._

_“No...no,” she said giggling before pulling Zarc’s face for a full kiss on the lips, making him pull her closer._

_“Okay, come on,” Zarc said, getting Ray off of him._

_“Where?” Ray asked, standing up._

_“It’s your birthday, let's get you to a restaurant, buy you a cake, get you on a shopping spree or something.”_

_Ray laughed. “Oh, you’re too sweet.”_

_“Come on, it’s a big day for you, let's give you a proper celebration,” Zarc said, grabbing her hands gently._

_Ray smiled wildly, “okay,” she said, as the two-headed inside Zarc’s house to get their things._

_She grabbed her purse from her backpack and pulled a credit card from it. “Father’s treat,” she said with a smirk._

_Zarc laughed before snapping his fingers, “Oh,” he said before heading upstairs and getting a small wrapped box. “Happy birthday.”_

_Ray smiled widely, her cheeks turning red and her heart beating faster. “You know I don’t need you to buy me anything,” she reminded him._

_“I know, I still want to,” Zarc answered, placing a kiss on her cheek, making Ray’s smile brighter._

_“I love seeing you glow like that, you have the most beautiful smile.”_

_Ray wrapped her arms around Zarc’s neck. “And you have the brightest and sweetest smile.”_

_The silver-haired boy picked Ray up and spun her around, before placing a kiss on her lips once more._

_…_

_…_

_…_

_Ray looked down at Zarc’s sleeping face as she laid beside him on his bed. She was wearing one of his shirts, the buttons were mostly undone to sleep in comfort as she didn’t have any sleepwear in Zarc’s house, which at this point it seemed a bit strange, she practically lived there._

_With Zarc’s parents hardly ever in the city let alone their home, and with her and Zarc being far too attached to the hope this building had become her actual home, and as long as her parents see her for breakfast they were none the wiser where she had spent the night, and they never have to know._

_“I can feel you looking at me,” Zarc’s sleepy voice said, his eyes were still closed._

_“Oh? What do you have a sixth sense I don’t know about or something?” Ray asked and Zarc grinned, eyes still closed._

_“You’re getting worse than your Sirens you know,” the silver-haired duelist said._

_“Am not!” She replied in mock offense._

_“Are too,” he replied, his grin getting wider._

_Ray laughed before straddling him, making Zarc let out an “oof” and finally open his eyes to look at Ray making him smirk. “Having Sirens suit you,” he said, placing his hands on Ray’s hips._

_“You certainly look heaven-sent until your claws come out.”_

_“Well-- waho!” Ray yelled as Zarc pushed her to the bed and hovered over her, he leaned down and kissed the valley between her exposed breasts before trailing kisses up her neck making Ray sigh before threading her hand through his hair and placing the other over his back before sliding up to his neck as she moaned and Zarc placed his hand on her thigh._

_“We should stop,” Ray whispered into his ear._

_Zarc raised himself leaving on his elbows lips hovering over Ray’s. “We should,” he agreed but didn’t move away. In a second Ray wrapped her legs around his waist and turned them over, straddling Zarc’s waist again, she leaned down, her hair falling past her shoulder as she leaned closer to Zarc once again_

_…_

_…_

_…_

_“Yes,” Ray whispered, taking Zarc’s extended hand. Zarc’s four beloved dragons stood behind him, and Ray Sirens stood behind her, as they all seemed to be waiting for an answer. The grace beneath their feet rustled as the wind swept through._

_They had met in the park once more, the anger and sorrow from the spirits around them, not just their own had become a constant wail of anger and hate, desiring destruction and vengeance. Both Ray and Zarc heard them loud and clear, as the blood lust had increased in the spirits, so it had in both of them towards others. Zarc had stood before her._

_“I’ll always choose you, above all else,” she vowed._

_“As will I! Astograph Sorcerer!” Zarc said turning to the powerful entity, his body was black and blue filled with stars as if created from the stars and galaxies themselves._

_“Moirai Sousoress of Fate, I invoke thee!” Ray chanted, calling on her own monster._

_“We beg of you, use your mighty powers!”_

_“Let us become one with our spirits!”_

**_“Creat us anew, and let us rise a power never before seen, never before told, never before challenged!”_ **

_Astrograph Sorcerer and Moirai raised their staffs above their heads as shimmering lights enveloped them all, what and who came after were two destructive forces of nature._

_…_

_…_

_..._

**_Death is but a door, time is but a window, this will never be our end, and once more, we shall return to this world and be remade anew._ **

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

**(Yugi:8000).................................(Tilla:8000)**

The six friends and the rest of the onlookers watched intently as the duel began. Many of them were curious to see how this little boy was going to fight off against this gorgeous lady, others began noticing the similarities between Yugi and Atem, and Yugi’s friends were already making bets. 

“1500 zen is on the line if Yugi wins in 5 turns,” Mana said.

“I’ll take that bet,” Tristen said. “Uh...Three turns.”

“I call seven,” Ryou said.

“Six,” Joey called. 

“Ugh,” Téa groaned. “Yugi losing his boyfriend to some vampire obsessed nut isn’t something to bet!”

“Oh please, he’s not gonna lose, that’s why we’re betting,” Mana said with a shrug. “Go Yugi! Show her how strong you really are!” 

“Ladies first,” Tilla purred. “And I start with the Spell Card known as Foolish Burial!”

Tilla played her card, showing a hand popping out of a grave, grasping a shovel, before smirking.

“This card allows me to send a card from my deck to the graveyard. And the card I choose is Vampire Sorcerer. But he’s not staying there long, because if I Banish him from the graveyard, I’m allowed to Normal Summon a DARK Vampire monster from my hand without tribute.”

Materializing onto the field was a sorcerer in black and crimson robes and witch hat. He had pale skin and green hair, making him look very sickly. He pointed his black staff, topped with a red orb encased in the claws of a bat, onto the ground as a swirling mass of shadows appeared in front of him. 

“Um...is that bad?” asked Tristan.

“Almost every DARK Vampire monster is either Level 5 or 6,” Bakura answered.

“Okay, that’s bad!” Tristen said eyes popping as he understood what Tilla was trying to do and how easy it would be to do it. 

“Now I summon to the field Shadow Vampire!” Tilla announced.

With a groan, a figure emerged with crimson eyes staring down at Yugi. It looks exactly like a vampire, male, with long white hair and armor that seemed to be coated in darkness. To add to its creepiness, it cast a crimson aura over the field. (2000 ATK)

“That’s a vampire? It looks like a stone monolith or something,” Téa said, eyes twitching a bit.

Tilla ignored her as she continued her turn. “Shadow Vampire’s effect activates! On the turn he’s summoned onto the field, I can Special Summon another ‘Vampire’ from the hand or deck. So I bring out my one and only Vampire Lord!”

With a cackle, a swarm of bats manifested next to Shadow Vampire. Then the bats transformed into a young man with a feminine face and light teal hair, wearing a purple suit adorned with a cape. Said Vampire grinned as he threw out his cape with a flourish, revealing the sharp talons covering the cape. (2000 ATK)

“Okay, now that looks more like a vampire,” Joey said 

“Kinda hot,” Mana said, tilting her head with a mischievous smile. 

“Mana, really?” Téa chided. 

“Oh come on, you know I’m right, just because I don’t like the girl doesn’t mean I can’t admire her monsters, I mean, these guys do it all the time,” Mana said in a deadpan voice looking accusingly at Tristen and Joey who were distinctly not looking at her, and Bakura who had a small blush on his face.

Téa huffed a tired sigh and turned her attention back to the duel. 

“Can you not see how majestic my monsters are?” Tilla purred.”They are filled with power, mystery, and darkness, hiding their true intentions for their helpless prey, before luring them and seducing them. Just like that handsome specimen over there. Can you imagine it, boy?”

“Oh for the love of the Egyptian Gods!” Tea groaned and was ignored by the two duelists. Tilla out of annoyance and Yugi… well...

Yugi gulped as he took a glance at Atem. Instead of the usual school uniform, he saw his boyfriend in a dark flowing cape with little bats flying everywhere, arms folded against his chest, ruby eyes staring at him like a piece of candy. Atem licked his lips, revealing his sharp fangs as he smirked. Yugi’s eyes widen even more at the images in his head of Atem beckoning the boy to approach him with that hypnotic voice, grabbing his chin and forcing Yugi to stare into those mesmerizing crimson eyes before that smirk sharpened and those fangs sunk deep into his neck and...

“Uh, Yug? Are you doing okay?” Joey asked as they saw a heavy cloud of smoke exploding out of Yugi’s head. The shorter boy’s face had turned completely red, his wide eyes were even impossibly wider as he tried not to whimper at the images in his head. Yugi was barely able to stop himself from squealing at the images his brain was conjuring about his very very handsome and sexy boyfriend, and his brain should immediately stop!

Atem snorted before covering his mouth to not laugh. He couldn’t see the thoughts Yugi had in his mind but he could feel how much he was liking what this Tilla girl was saying. Yugi was clearly embarrassed and aroused. 

“Oh, he would just make the perfect vampire, mysterious and alluring and such a dark soul. Oh, and what pretty eyes he has, the color of blood.” Tilla continued. “And what sharp teeth he has too to --”

“Okay, okay I get it, Atem’s hot! Can you just duel already?!” Yugi half-screamed as everyone looked alarmed at his outburst. 

“Can’t wait to lose can you boy?” Tilla asked with a chuckle. 

Yugi almost growled but settled in with only a huff of frustration. 

Atem’s eyes went back to the monsters on the field, and his eyes narrowed. Two Level 5 Vampires on the field can only mean one thing… he thought. 

“Now it is time for me to build the Overlay Network!” Tilla announced.

The black portal emerged in front of Tilla as her two Vampires dove into it, transformed into black streaks of light.

“Knight who soaks himself in the blood of the enemies, bring forth more and more bloodshed upon the battlefield. Xyz Summon! Rank 5! Crimson Knight Vampire Bram!”

This monster was big, he also had pale yellow hair but he reached his shoulders. He wore a purple armor that covered his shoulders, his chest, his knees. In his left hand, he held a shield with a red cross in the middle of it, and in his right, he held an iron sword, with a black hilt. On his forehead what seemed like a head guard which, along with the rest of the armor and the shield, glowed with pink runes. Spikes jutted out from the shoulders, knees, and shield, ready to stab someone to death. (2500 ATK)

“He doesn’t look too scary! I can take ya vampires myself any day!” Joey yelled.

“Umm...yep…” Tristan added hesitantly. 

“Please don’t try,” Mana said, deadpan and Tristen sighed in relief.

“Oh don’t be a scaredy-cat, Tristen.”

“I’m not!” 

“Oh yeah? So how come that one time at Yug’s when we decided to watch that horror movie you ju-”

Joey was cut off as Tristan jumped on him, covering Joey’s mouth with his hand to stop him from talking, which only ended up in the two brawling on the street.

Mana and Téa huffed before each of the girls pulled the ear of one of the boys making them freeze and moan in pain. 

“This is an important duel for Yugi, you know,” said Téa.

“I shall end it with two cards face-down,” said Tilla, placing two more cards into her Duel Disk. 

“M-my turn,” said Yugi, taking a deep breath and drawing his card before smiling widely. “All right, let’s take this to someplace grand. I play the field spell Palace of Illusion !”

A brilliant light lit the interior of the café as a palace made of white stones materialized behind Yugi. Blue roses bloomed and black butterflies fluttered about, making people gasp in awe at its brilliance.

“The light!” Tilla hissed, covering her eyes. “It burns!!!”

A lot of people sweatdropped. 

“It’ll do more than that,” said Yugi. “Now each time an ‘Illusion’ monster gets summoned to the field, I get an ‘Illusion Counter’. When I get enough I can offer them up for various effects. But for now, let me get to some of the monsters that reside in this palace. I summon Seraphic Knight of Illusion in Attack Mode!”

A kaleidoscope of butterflies fluttered to the ground and swirled in a tornado as a figure of white formed within the space. When the butterflies dispersed, there was now a dainty girl with auburn hair that fell past her shoulders, blue eyes with a visor covering them, who wore white knight’s armor with gold trim. In her right hand was a white and gold buckler and in her left hand was a large white flag with a strange eye symbol that had white and black magic swirling around it. She smiled as a pair of white feathery wings sprouted from her back. (1400 ATK)

“Serenity!!!” Tristan cheered, seeing how the knight looked similar to Joey’s little sister. “Serenity look this way!” 

“Do you have to do that every time Yugi plays that card?” Joey asked, twin veins twitching on his forehead ready to punch the back of Tristen’s head. 

“As long as she’s always that cute? Then yes,” Tristen answered and got a hit from Joey for his troubles. 

“An angel off to fight the vampires?” Tilla snarked, a confident smirk on her lips as she looked at Yugi’s monster, raising an eyebrow. “It’s been done.”

“Not like this,” Yugi replied. “You see, each of my ‘Illusion’ monsters has the ability to change their attribute to either LIGHT or DARK. And depending on their attributes, they gain some very unique abilities.

Tilla raised a thin eyebrow. “Oh?”

“Oh,” Yugi answered. “So now I activate the effect of my Seraphic Knight of Illusion to change her attribute to LIGHT!”

Seraphic Knight of Illusion raised her flag into the air, her blue eyes fading into the color of pearls.

“And next, I play the Spell Card Illusion Image! This allows me to Special Summon an ‘Illusion’ monster from my hand with its effects negated and it must return to my hand at the end of my turn. So come forth Hunter of Illusion!”

Yugi played his next card, showing off a monster that looked similar to Atem summoning a dragon into battle. Then the sound of a gunshot fired as the next Illusion monster appeared, riding a horse the color of shadows. He wore a simple forest green tunic with a brown cloak covering him, and he wielded a large hunting rifle in his hands. His brown hair was formed into a crew cut shaped into a point on top. (1700 ATK)

“This is so amazing!” Tristan exclaimed. “I the noble hunter protecting the angelic knight from all trouble who comes her -- OW!”

“STOP LIVING IN YOUR OWN HEAD!” Joey yelled in Tristan’s ear.

Tilla narrowed her eyes. She noticed the levels of both monsters and realized just what this kid was about to pull. But what type of monster was she about to face?

“With my Level 4 Seraphic Knight and Hunter of Illusion, I build the Overlay Network!” Yugi proclaimed.

Just like Tilla, the Overlay Network manifested in front of Yugi. Both of the Illusion monsters entered the event horizon as the field became filled with light.

“When all is lost, a lone figure will emerge from the ashes to save the day!” Yugi chanted. “Now, come forth and bring hope to this forsaken land! Rank 4! Xyz Summon! Come forth, Hero of Illusion!”

Emerging from the portal was a brand new figure, male this time. They had gold hair as bright as the sun and glowing white eyes. They were dressed in a warrior’s outfit of a tunic, with a green coat on top of that, blue pants, and a red flowing cape behind them. Their eyes scanned the field as they pulled out a sword from their scabbard all while two orbs of light circled their head. (2000 ATK)

“Ah yeah!” Joey cheered. “Time for the hero to save the day.”

“Tell me again who asked me to stop living in his own head?” Tristan replied with a smirk, and Joey’s eye twitched in annoyance. 

“My Hero of Illusion’s effect activates!” said Yugi. “For every LIGHT and DARK monster in play, he gains 200 attack and defense points! So that’s 400 attack and defense points right now!”

Hero of Illusion grinned, showing off his sword as light and dark energy empowered him. (2000/1500 -) 2400/1900)

“It’s too weak to fight off my knight,” Tilla remarked.

“Not for long,” said Yugi, showing off two marble statues in the likings of Seraphic Knight and Hunter of Illusion behind him. “First, I remove two ‘Illusion Counters’ from my Field Spell to draw a card.”

The two statues shattered as Yugi drew his card, smiling at what he drew.

“And then I detach an Overlay Unit from Hero of Illusion to Special Summon an ‘Illusion’ monster from my hand. So I summon to the field Illusion Bard!”

Hero of Illusion raised his sword into the sky and sliced one of the orbs circling his head. Then, another figure emerged onto the field. It was a young man with snow-white hair that fell to his shoulders, wearing a white tunic tied with a silver rope, a black floppy hat with silver stripes and two swan feathers sticking out of it, a black cloak that covered his left shoulder, and a pair of leather boots. They played a few notes on a silver flute in hand before opening their eyes, showing that they were also a bright white color. (1400 ATK)

Ryou shrugged. He would’ve liked it if he was a White Mage instead of a bard.

“Now, Illusion Bard’s effect! I change his attribute to LIGHT to give me an ‘Illusion’ monster to my hand!”

Illusion Bard’s eyes began to glow white as he played a soft tune on his flute. Yugi snatched the card as he saw Hero of Illusion’s stats rise by another 200. Crimson Knight Vampire Bram began to sweat as he saw that Hero of Illusion’s attack was now a hundred points higher than his.

“Now Hero of Illusion, attack Crimson Knight Vampire Bram!”

Hero of Illusion charged into battle as Crimson Knight Vampire Bram, braced himself. The Hero smirked (2600 -) 3100 ATK) and sliced the vampire’s head clean off before Bram’s body shattered into triangles.

**(Yugi: 8000).................................(Tilla: 7400)**

“What?” Tilla gasped. “How did I lose that many life points?”

“Seraphic Knight of Illusions’s effect,” Yugi answered. “When she’s a LIGHT monster, she can grant 500 attack points to an ‘Illusion’ Xyz monster she’s an Overlay Unit to during the Battle Phase.”

Tilla snarled all while Hero of Illusion gave a goofy grin.

“Now then Illusion Bard, attack directly!” Yugi continued.

Illusion Bard smiled as he pulled out a dagger from his coat. He threw it towards Tilla who smirked.

“I activate my face-down card, Vampire Awakening!” Tilla shouted. “This allows me to Special Summon a ‘Vampire’ monster from my deck. And I chose my Vampire Familiar!”

Tilla’s face-down card lifted, revealing a girl in a black dress laying in bed, looking like she was about to awaken from sleep. Then, emerging from the card was a black bat with a wicked-looking face and a long tail. (0 DEF)

“And that’s not all. Since Vampire Familiar was Special Summoned, I can pay 500 life points to take a ‘Vampire’ monster from my deck to my hand.”

Vampire Familiar fluttered to Tilla’s side as Tilla brought her free arm out. The bat perched upon her arm and sank its teeth into her wrist, feeding on her blood before Tilla took a new card to her hand.

**(Yugi: 8000).................................(Tilla: 6900)**

“That still won’t stop my attack!” said Yugi. “Go, Illusion Bard!”

Illusion Bard smirked and played his flute so that the knife flew into the air and destroyed the tiny bat.

“Yeah! Go Yugi!” Mana cheered, jumping up and down from excitement. 

“I’m ending my turn there,” said Yugi with a smile.

“You are a fool to leave yourself open without anything to protect your monsters from my assault,” Tilla chuckled, drawing a card. “First off, because Crimson Knight Vampire Bram was destroyed, he is resurrected onto my field.”

With a groan, the Vampire Xyz monster emerged onto the field from a portal of shadows, eyes washed in a pink glow as he prepared his sword and shield for battle.

“What?! Okay, an Xyz monster with a revive effect? That’s not fair!” Joey exclaimed.

“If it makes you feel better, Bram’s stuck in Defense Mode when summoned this way,” Tilla said with a frown.

Sure enough, Bram was crouching, shield in front of him. (0 DEF)

“And next, I shall discard a ‘Vampire’ card in my hand to bring Vampire Familiar back. And since it returns, I pay another 500 life points to bring another member of my brood.” 

“Is playing a deck that takes your life points out such a good idea?” Tristan asked.

“Well, some people feel it would be better that way,” Ryou answered. “Every last card is precious and important to build a combo so discarding it seems like a heavier price than using your own life points. Of course, that does have the drawback of if your own combos fail you’d have made yourself weaker.”

Vampire Familiar once again bit out of Tilla’s wrist, a few droplets of blood on its fangs when it was done. 

“Oh, that looks painful,” Mana commented. 

**(Yugi: 8000).................................(Tilla: 6400)**

“Next, I shall Tribute my Vampire Familiar to summon Vampire Duke!” Tilla declared ignoring comments outside the duel.

A tall dark figure with a black suit, a white undershirt, and a red vest and a tall pop-up collar and a long cape appeared on the field. (2000 ATK)

“And since Vampire Duke was summoned, I can resurrect another of my Vampires from the grave. So rise and unleash a crimson cloud of death, Vampire Scarlet Scourge!”

A swarm of bats filled the field before they dispersed, revealing a male vampire, probably older than Vampire Lord if going by physical features, with snow-white hair, and wearing a black vest and pants and a crisp white blouse. Draped over his shoulders was a black cape tattered at the hems. In his left hand was a silver scepter topped with a red orb, red as his eyes that grinned at the victims he was about to enthrall. (2300 ATK)

“Is she trying to Xyz summon again?” asked Téa. “But that can’t be right -- her monsters are different levels.”

“Yes, mine are,” Tilla purred. “But I can circumvent it with a little help from my prey.”

“Huh?” asked Yugi.

“I activate the Spell Card Zombie Necronize!”

Tilla played a Spell Card, showing what looked like a zombie Red-Eyes Black Dragon wreathed in blue flames.

“Not that! Anything but that!” Tristan shouted. “Uh, wait...what does that do?”

“Do you know what Change of Heart does?” asked Ryou.

“Yeah, it takes control of your opponent’s monster. Why?”

“Zombie Necronize is that, but there needs a Level 5 or higher Zombie monster on the field to use it.”

“Oh, that is bad!”

“Indeed it is,” Tilla purred. “And now I will take control of Illusion Bard!”

Scarlet Scourge's eyes glowed red, which reflected in the bard’s eyes as the spell took control of him. Illusion Bard was levitated off the ground by Scarlet Scourge’s scepter before floating towards his side with a grin as he patted the bard on the head.

“No~, fight it!” Tristan wailed. 

“The monster itself can’t do anything about it,” Ryo said. 

“Oh, man…”. 

“And now I can activate the effect of my Xyz Monster!” Tilla grinned. “If I use an opponent’s monster to summon him, then its level automatically becomes Level 6!”

Illusion Bard’s stats changed, indicated by four stars shining over his head gaining two more. (LV: 4 -) 6)

“That’s really really not good,” Tea gulped.

“Now, I shall build the Overlay Network once more!” Tilla shouted.

The Overlay Network appeared as Vampire Scarlet Scourge pushed Illusion Bard into the center before entering it himself.

“From the light of the crimson moon, be reborn and enshroud the world with darkness. Xyz Summon! Rank 6! Emerge Dhampir Vampire Sheridan!”

With a booming laugh, a new vampire emerged. Unlike its brethren, they wore a fancy white suit with gold trim, and red and purple patches, and a long flowing black cape. His blond hair was neatly combed and he had a wicked grin on his face and an evil gleam in his eye. The shoulders of his suit were decorated with skulls, adding to the sinister look. (2600 ATK)

“And it gets even worse,” Tilla added. “If I detach an Overlay Unit from Sheridan, then I can send one monster you control directly to the graveyard.”

Hero of Illusion gulped as a swarm of bats targeted him. There was a scream, some squeaks of the bats and then all that was left of the Xyz monster was his sword.

“Oh, and since a monster of yours was sent to the graveyard by card effects, I can detach another Overlay Unit from Sheridan to resurrect him! So here he is, the new and improved Hero of Illusion!”

Sheridan shattered his last Overlay Unit before he pulled Hero of Illusion from the ground, the Illusion Xyz Monster’s eyes glowing red and a black mark of a bat on his forehead. (2000/1500 -) 2800/1900)

“This is bad!” Joey exclaimed. “Those monsters have enough attack points to turn Yugi into a stain on the carpet.”

“No, wait,” said Téa, noticing that Hero of Illusion was on his knees alongside Crimson Knight Vampire Bram. “Two of her monsters are in Defense Mode and she can’t change their positions till next turn. Yugi still has a chance.”

Tilla cackled. “Does he? Not even after I activate my face-down card, Final Attack Orders ?”

Tilla continued to laugh as her face-down card lifted, a Continuous Trap of soldiers charging into battle against an army of monsters.

“Now all our monsters are stuck in Attack Mode and can’t change positions. And since my combined monsters’ attack is more than 8000, I can end this in one turn!”

“...Prove it,” Yugi smirked as everyone else looked in shock at how Yugi could be so brazen.

“Is he insane?!”

“He’s going to be crushed.”

“The kid’s a goner.”

“GO MY MONSTERS! FEAST UPON HIS BLOOD!” Tilla shouted.

Sheridan attacked, grabbing Yugi’s and biting his shoulder. Atem squeezed his hand and bit his lips to not move or interfere, he couldn’t stand to see Yugi hurt. 

The second monster, Vampire Duke, unleashed a swarm of bats that tackled Yugi and nibbled on his arms and legs, making the boy fall to his knees. Crimson Knight Vampire Bram followed it up with a slash from his sword, causing Yugi to howl in pain as his life points fell even further.

“Yugi!” the others shouted in fear as they saw how much life points their friend had left.

**(Yugi: 900).................................(Tilla: 6900)**

“If she gets one more attack in, Yugi’s done for!” said Ryou.

“And the coup de gras,” Tlila chuckled, relishing that moment of seeing her prey on their knees. 

“Go, Hero of Illusion, end this duel!”

Hero of Illusion grit his teeth, hand trembling as he grasped onto his sword, before he leaped into battle, ready to take the last of Yugi’s life points. Yugi calmly discarded a card from his hand as something shimmered onto the field.

“Kuri Kuri!”

Tilla blinked and saw Yugi was protected by a wall of adorable brown fuzzballs with three-toed claws and wide purple eyes.

“Kuriboh?!” Tilla screamed.

Mana gasped and squealed. “Yes! Good Kuriboh! Little furball deserves a hug!”

“Yep, Kuriboh,” Yugi said as a Kuriboh floated onto his shoulder, nuzzling his face. “These little guys come in handy. In fact, Kuriboh is kinda like me.”

“Annoying little pests?” Tilla remarked.

“No. They look weak and harmless, but they can be used to protect others. They are willing to risk their lives to make sure their friends are safe.”

Hero of Illusion had no choice but for his sword to slash through the multiple Kuribohs, and with that, his attack had no damage to Yugi’s life points at all. Everyone let out a sigh of relief; that could’ve easily been a loss. 

“Either way, you still have four monsters to face,” Tilla remarked. “So unless you have a trick up your sleeve, then I suggest you forfeit right now.”

“No,” Yugi said, slowly rising to his feet. “I’m not going to give up. I will win this!”

“Yeah! Yugi you can do it!” Joey cheered. 

Yugi nodded with a confident look on his face. “My turn, draw!” He said grabbing his card. “Now I play Graceful Charity to draw three cards and discard two to the graveyard.

An angel in a long green dress and matching green feathery wings flew onto the field, three 

feathers falling down before she disappeared into sparkles of light. Yugi drew three cards and discarded two of them. He then smirked, taking a card from his hand before he revealed it to Tilla, whose pupils shrunk. “It’s time to bring my friend back! I play Brain Control and pay 800 life points to return Hero of Illusion to me!”

A large ghostly brain emerged onto the field, and a pair of green hands yanked Hero of Illusion from Tilla’s side and back to Yugi’s.

**(Yugi: 100).................................(Tilla: 6900)**

Hero of Illusion blinked, looking at where he was before sighing in relief. He then stuck his tongue out at the three vampires.

“Yugi better know what he’s doing,” said Tristan. “Just look at how low his life points are!”

“Next I summon Illusion Dragon Priest in Attack Mode!” Yugi continued.

In a burst of flames, a new monster appeared, at least two heads taller than Yugi and wearing blue robes trimmed with gold. Topping a head of chestnut hair was a tall priest hat with a golden dragon at the front and a golden eye emblem on his chest. In his hand was a golden scepter topped with a winged eye. His blue eyes showed wisdom and clarity as he pointed his weapon toward the brood of vampires. (1700 ATK)

“Illusion Dragon Priest’s effect! I change his attribute to DARK! This allows me to Xyz summon a monster two ranks higher than an Xyz monster I control!”

Illusion Dragon Priest’s blue eyes darkened until they were the color of ink. The change made the golden accessories on his attire also darken.

“And now I’m going to build the Overlay Network once more! Go Hero of Illusion!”

“Winner of countless battles! Bring your skills once more into the battlefield! Rank 6! Xyz Summon! Champion of Illusion!”

Emerging from the portal is a new monster dressed in a blue tunic, cream pants, and red cape with the same eye emblem. He wielded a scepter made of oak and topped with a diamond. His most defining trait, however, was his hair. It stood up, making him resemble a starfish, colored red and black with yellow bangs framing his youthful face. His amethyst eyes showed innocence but also the power within them while two yellow orbs circled him like planets. 

In fact, if the audience didn’t know better, the Champion of Illusion looked exactly like Yugi! (2400 ATK)

“Oh, you’re the champion?” Tilla asked.

“In more ways than one,” said Yugi. “Now the effect of my Champion activates; once per turn, I can return an ‘Illusion’ monster from the field to my hand and then Special Summon another one from my deck. I return Illusion Dragon Priest to the hand so I can summon Illusion Healer!”

With a sigh and the smell of lavender, the newest monster appears. She has short brown hair and crystal blue eyes and wears a white cloak with red trim. In her hands is a wooden staff curled like a shepherd’s crook. (1000 ATK)

“If I’ll be honest, I wished I was a sorcerer, instead of a white mage,” Téa commented.

“Illusion Healer’s effect! I change her attribute to DARK! And with this attribute, she can revive an ‘Illusion’ monster from my graveyard. And if that monster happens to be an ‘Xyz’ monster, then I can attach another ‘Illusion’ monster it onto it as an Overlay Unit. So come back Hero of Illusion!” 

Illusion Healer’s eyes turned black as she slammed her staff to the ground. A moan filled the field as Hero of Illusion rose from the grave, a single Overlay Unit circling him. (2000/1500 -) 3200/2100)

“And now I activate the power of Champion of Illusion! As long as he is on the field, your monsters lose attack and defense points for every LIGHT and DARK monster on the field, and right now I count 6!”

“No!” Tilla gasped, seeing how weak her monsters have become. “My Vampires!”

Champion of Illusion raised his scepter into the air as a white light illuminated the field. The Vampires hissed as they felt their stats drop significantly. (Dhampir Vampire Sheridan: 2600/1000 -) 200/0, Crimson Knight Bram: 2500/0 -) 100/0, Vampire Duke: 2000/0 -) 0/0) 

“All right, let’s see how you like being on the assault,” said Yugi. “Go Illusion Healer, attack Vampire Duke!”

Illusion Healer raised her staff into the air, eyes glowing black before a black bolt of lightning struck Vampire Duke’s heart, causing him to shatter with a gasp.

**(Yugi: 100).................................(Tilla: 5900)**

“And since I know Crimson Knight Bram will be brought back from the graveyard on your next turn, I’ll go after Sheridan instead! Go Hero of Illusion!”

Hero of Illusion charged into battle, ready to destroy the vampire.

“Not so fast!” said Tilla. “Since one of my Vampires was targeted for an attack, I can Special Summon Vampire Fraulein from my hand!”

In a swirl of shadows, a new monster appeared, similar to the one from Vampire Awakening. IT was a young girl, probably younger than Tilla herself, with the same pale skin and red eyes like her fellow vampires, and long blond hair that fell to her waist. She wore a black dress and carried an equally black parasol in her hands. (1000/2000 -) 0/0)

“Why would she do that?” asked Tristan. “One, Hero of Illusion gains a buff and two, Champion of Illusion just made her Dhampir weaker!”

Indeed, Dhampir Sheridan coughed and glared at Vampire Fraulein as his attack was now at 200. Meanwhile, Hero of Illusion was sitting pretty at 3200.

“Because of this!” said Tilla. “Once per battle, I can pay 100 life points to increase the attack and defense of my attacked ‘Vampire’ monster by that much. I can pay up to 3000 life points for this ability, which is the exact amount I need to destroy that Hero once and for all!

Vampire Fraulein turned to Tilla and bit deep into her wrist, causing Tilla to gasp. Once Vampire Fraulein had her fill, her lips red with blood, she approached Dhampir Vampire Sheridan and placed a kiss on his lips filling him with power. (200/0 -) 3200/3000)

**(Yugi: 100).................................(Tilla: 2900)**

Sheridan cackled as he lunged towards Hero of Illusion, as Hero of Illusion swung his sword down. Sheridan lunged and bit Hero of Illusion’s neck, and the two monsters were destroyed.

“I’m ending my turn there,” said Yugi.

“Wait what?!” asked Joey. “Yugi, your Champion didn’t attack yet! You can destroy that Fraulein with one fell swoop. I mean, that’s the effect it gets when you detach an Overlay Unit on it.”

“I could.” Yugi nodded confidently. “But I want to see how Tilla can come back.”

“Yugi!” Mana yelled in outrage. “Stop giving your opponents a chance to come back! How many times do we have to do this?! Look at how many life points you have left! My brother’s dating life is on the line!”

“Maybe next time don’t place your brother in a bet,” Atem pointed out, leaning on the wall not looking worried at all.

“You’re not involved in this!” Mana yelled.

“I think I’m pretty involved.”

“You will pay for this, you little waste of skin,” Tilla snarled, drawing her card. “I activate the power of Zombie Necronize!”

“Wait, how the heck can you do that?” asked Téa. “It’s in the graveyard!”

“If I return one of my banished Zombies into my deck, I can play it face-down,” Tilla replied. “And you do remember that Vampire Sorcerer was banished, correct? And so was Vampire Familiar after I re-summoned it onto the field.”

A card popped out of Tilla’s graveyard as she slipped another card back into her deck.

“And now I play it! Since there is at least one Level 5 Zombie monster on the field, I can use it to take control of the Champion of Illusion to weaken your monsters instead!”

The image of Zombie Necronize appeared on the field as Vampire Fraulein grinned. She leaned towards Champion of Illusion, seeing the look in the monster’s eyes glaze over and turn red.

However, Yugi didn’t look so worried. Instead, he just smiled and said, “I don’t think so.”

“What?!” Tilla yelled outraged.

“Remember my Palace of Illusion?” asked Yugi, pointing to his Field Spell and the multitude of marble statues littering the garden with a smile. “It’s been gathering a lot of counters throughout this duel. And when I have at least six of them, I can offer them up to negate any effect that targets one of my Illusion monsters!”

The statues shattered and the remains transformed into a shimmering barrier in front of Champion of Illusion, preventing him from being taken away by Vampire Fraulein’s hypnotizing gaze.

“I...I end this with one card face-down,” Tilla whispered, placing a card onto her Duel Disk with a trembling hand and wide eyes.

Yugi smirked “My turn,” he said, drawing a card. “And now, I summon Illusion Dragon Priest once more!”

Emerging from the flames once more was the dragon priest, golden staff ready. (1700 ATK)

“And you remember what happens if I choose to make his attribute DARK, right?” Yugi asked. 

“So now I’m going to Xyz summon my strongest monster! I build the Overlay Network!”

Illusion Dragon Priest’s eyes turned dark as he chanted a spell over Champion of Illusion. Then, the dark swirling vortex appeared once more on the field, as Champion of Illusion entered it alone.

“Grand ruler of the Illusion Kingdom, grant us your strength in this unholy land! Combine the powers of Light and Darkness once more! Xyz Summon! Rank 8! Monarch of Illusion!”

A hand appeared from the dark vortex as the new monster emerged, and for a moment it looked the same as the Champion. However, he was taller, his clothes befitting a king, and a golden circlet topping his spiky hair. When the light faded, everyone looked in awe at the new monster.

While he had many similarities to Champion of Illusion, there were just as many differences. First, three additional lightning bolt bangs rose. Second, his eyes were the color of rubies, surrounded by shadows as if to conceal or cover them somehow. Third, his weapon was a fancy gold scepter that had two orbs, one black and one white, floating around it. And fourth, his outfit had gold trim and a purple cape instead of the red one that Champion of Illusion wore. (3000 ATK)

Yugi’s heart fluttered every single time he used this combo. It felt so familiar, that the Champion of Illusion would be able to have the power to summon the Monarch.

“Oh, I love how uncle made these. He really looks like a mix of Yugi and Atem!” Mana squealed. 

“If I had it my way, he would be wearing black, lots of black,” Tilla huffed.

“Monarch of Illusion’s effect!” Yugi announced. “When he’s Xyz summoned onto the field, all non-Illusion cards are destroyed!”

“No! I activate my face-down card, Titanocider!” Tilla exclaimed. “Since you, Special Summoned a monster from your Extra Deck, I can reduce its attack to 0 and negate its effects!”

Tilla’s face-down card, showing Apollousa, Bow of the Goddess fighting off a large titan, flipped over. But Monarch of illusion smirked darkly at her declaration, making Tilla’s eyes widen, her lips slightly parted, as a dark aura surrounded him, making her feel as if she can’t breathe. Meanwhile, Vampire Fraulein and Crimson Knight Vampire Bram looked in fear as lightning formed in the Monarch’s scepter.

“Sorry, that won’t work on my Monarch,” said Yugi. “I activate his effect and detach an Overlay Unit on him so he’s unaffected by your card effects this turn.”

“But...if you do that...that means…” Tilla’s eyes widened.

“You lose. Accept your defeat, Tilla.”

Monarch of Illusion grabbed the Overlay Unit that was swirling around him in his hand and crushed it. The Trap Card did nothing and was sent to the graveyard. Monarch of Illusion then extended his hand towards Tilla’s monsters, a glowing eye shining on his forehead, and they were all destroyed with a blast of black and white magic.

“No!” Tilla screeched.

“Now then Monarch of Illusion, attack directly!” Yugi shouted.

Monarch of Illusion aimed the scepter at Tilla, charging at her so fast that in a blink of an eye, he was standing right in front of her. Tilla trembled, staring into those crimson eyes filled with tranquil anger before he brought down his scepter with a slash that attacked her directly. Tilla’s life points dropped to zero, cheers from the crowd, and the group of friends erupted as Tilla fell to her knees in defeat. 

**(Yugi: 100).................................(Tilla: 0)**

Atem smirked, removed himself from the wall he was leaning on, and walked confidently towards Yugi, placing his fingers under Yugi’s chin making Yugi’s eyes widen in surprise as he did not notice Atem coming closer. The taller boy tilted Yugi’s head towards him before kissing 

Yugi’s lips in front of everyone. Yugi froze for a moment before closing his eyes, relaxing his shoulders, and kissing his boyfriend back happily. 

Some groaned some whistles and some cheered, Yugi’s opponent Tilla let out an indignant shriek before she walked away in shame.

“Woohoo!” Téa cheered. 

“Way to go Yugi!” Mana called jumping happily in the air. 

Atem finally broke the kiss, making Yugi beam at him before both of them turned back to their friends. 

“You showed her!” Tristan cheered. “Although I’m never gonna forget the look on that Hero’s face when he was brought back to life by that Dhampir!”

“Hey you do remember who that Hero is based on right?” asked Joey.

“Exactly!”

“Honestly, Yugi,” Mana scolded. “If it weren’t for that Palace of Illusion, you would’ve lost Atem forever!”

“This wasn’t a Shadow Game Mana,” Yugi said with a shrug. “Worst-case scenario Atem breaks up with her in two days.”

“One hour,” Atem corrected in a deadpan tone. 

“One hour,” Yugi amended.

“Wa-what?” Téa asked, blinking. 

Atem shrugged. “Yugi agreed to the duel, Mana agreed to the terms, I agreed to be the prize… but no one said I have to stay her boyfriend forever. It’s not like she would have turned me into an actual vampire or something.”

“That’s… a good loophole actually,” Joey blinked. 

“Huh...nice!” Téa said with a bright smile.

Yugo laughed and pulled Atem in for a kiss. 

Mana sighed. “I still think what you did was pretty reckless, it hasn’t come back to bite you yet but it will.”

“Mana’s right, Yugi,” Tristan brought up. “I mean, there are times where you have no choice but to fight.”

Yugi sighed. “...Yeah, maybe.” 

“Oh yeah, who won the bet?” Mana asked.

“Yeah, how many turns were those?” Joey asked and began to count on his fingers. 

“Six turns,” Atem answered. 

“Six? Oh man,” Tristan said with a sigh. 

“Yeah! Six turns, fork ‘em over!” Joey cheered extending his hand as Mana, Tristan and Bakura each gave him 1500 Yen. 

“I still maintain Joey is Lady Luck’s favorite child. He never loses anything when it’s based on luck,” Mana said with a small pout.

“Ya got that right!” Joey laughed.

Atem’s cellphone rang suddenly, startling them. The dark-skinned boy blinked and answered on the fourth ring. 

“Hey Mahad, what’s the matter?” he asked.

“Are you guys busy? I kinda need you and the others at home, there’s a surprise waiting for you,” Mahad answered.

“Huh?” Atem blinked in confusion before looking around. He turned to the others. “Mahad wants us home, says there’s a surprise, are you guys up to heading to our house?”

“Um...sure! I guess we got what we want here,” Joey said. “And got to watch an awesome duel.”

“Sure,” Téa said with a nod. 

“I don’t mind,” Ryo answered, and Tristan gave a nod. 

Atem looked at Yugi who also nodded with a smile, making Atem beam at him, his heart beating just a little faster. Atem brought the phone to his ear again and told his older brother that they’ll be home soon before ending the call. He put his arm around Yugi’s shoulder as they walked side by side to Atem’s house, just relishing this sweet moment they had with one another.

And also doing his best not to chuckle at all of those ‘fantasies’ buzzing around his boyfriend’s mind. 

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Mahad smiled as he prepared the tea and snacks on the table in the living room. Any minute now, his siblings and friends were going to arrive to see the surprise.

“Mahad?” asked Mana, kicking her shoes off and hanging her school bag on a nearby coat rack. “What’s going on?”

“Oh, we just have visitors,” Mahad called from the living room, in it sat two people. A man in his thirties with silver-white hair that reached his shoulder, and a full red suit, while the other sitting next to him was a woman with long blond hair, a heart-shaped face, and kind blue eyes while adorned in a light blue gown. Mana gasped.

“UNCLE!!!! AUNTIE!!!” she squealed, practically flying into the air before she tackled her uncle and aunt off of the couch, causing it to tip over with a crash. Mahad groaned; it’s a miracle that the couch hasn’t fallen apart at this rate.

“Oh Mana, dear! So lovely to see you!” The man said, hugging Mana back. 

The woman giggled. “Lively as always Mana.” 

Mana grinned widely as she got off of her aunt and uncle and sat back beside Mahad.

“Uncle Pegasus, Aunt Cecilia,” Atem greeted as he hugged them both in a greeting. “Welcome back, how was the trip to the ruins?” 

“Hey Mister Pegasus sir,” Joey greeted. “Miss Cecilia. How was the excavation? You have any stories you want to tell?”

“I have plenty to share!” Pegasus laughed. “I think you’re going to like what we dug up about your dragon.”

“Oh? I can’t wait to hear this!” Joey exclaimed 

Greetings went around as the gang welcomed Pegasus and Cecilia back from their excavation trip, as the group of friends sat down to listen to Pegasus’ latest findings and uncoverings. 

Pegasus had been driven over the origins of Duel Monsters for a long time, wondering just who created them and brought the idea to life. There weren’t any books or websites regarding this, no one knew the origins of duel monsters, the monsters themselves, or even the game, but there were rumors. 

“First off,” said Pegasus, handing a few cards to Joey. “Joseph, I believe you’d like a look at these.”

Joey took the cards and started going through them. His face going wide from shock to disbelief to wonder and amazement. “No way…” Joey said, going back to the first card. “This guy kinda looks like me!”

“He looks a lot better than you,” Tristan noted before pulling out another card. “Whoa, there’s even one of Serenity! She looks kinda cute in red and bla-HEY!”

Joey took the cards from Tristan before aiming a punch to the back of his head. “Stop ogling ma sister!” 

“But that’s not your sister. It’s a card-based off of your sister. Besides, I keep mentioning how Yugi’s Seraphic Knight of Illusion is pretty but -- OW!”

“Okay, both of you stop it,” Yugi said, trying to defuse the situation. 

“So you guys found the history of this tribe?” Mana asked, wanting to hear more. 

“Indeed. You see, as we discovered the origin of the monsters' stone tablets, we found a way to read how and why they were created. You see the court of the Pharaoh had special items, and these items were used to judge a person’s darkness. As once a person is found guilty, some say it’s because a monster resides inside them manifested from the evil and sin within their very soul.”

“Wow…” amazement went around the room as Pegasus’ stories, as always grabbed their full attention. It made them wonder why he became a painter instead of an author.

“The tribe of the Red-Eyes were beings who had the Red-Eyes Black Dragon reincarnated in their king,” Pegasus said, weaving the tale. “They said that the chosen ruler would develop monstrous claws and black wings, solidifying around him like armor, and eyes red as blood, ready to attack. Only the one who has the Red-Eyes Black Dragon manifest in them were fit to be kings….Or so the story goes.” Pegasus then pointed to the card Joey held in his hand. “The card that you hold, Joseph, was the first king. In times of war, he would manifest his Red-Eyes nature and go to fight, alongside his most trusted in the tribe, those who were chosen and able to ride the dragons.” 

Joey whistled, trying to imagine himself as that powerful king, leading his soldiers to battle. 

“That’s so cool! I’m the reincarnation of a powerful dragon king!” 

Tristan groaned. “Did you have to feed his ego like that?”

“Well don’t feel too bad. After all, seems like you were also a big help,” Joey said, waving a card at Tristan.

“Give me that!” Tristen said, snatching the card from Joey’s hand looking at the monster that has his face, standing tall with the shadow of a Red-Eyes Black Dragon cast over him. “Oh man, I look so cool!” 

“Hey, those are mine!” Joey snapped, grabbing the card. “Go get your own deck!”

As the two kept arguing back and forth, Bakura took note of a card that looked quite different. It showed a boy around Joey’s age with spiky chestnut hair and serious red eyes. “Um, Mr. 

Pegasus...who is this?”

“Most of these monsters were knights and warriors,” Pegasus answered. “There was a small description of him donning his armor and trading blows with the king. For what reason, it’s unsure of. A rivalry? For show? Jealousy? I’m not sure, but it made for quite a story to read and imagine what could’ve happened.” 

“We also do have a reason to believe that the blond girl and the other brown-haired warrior are very close,” Cecilia added. “There was a story fragment which told of how the blonde girl fell into darkness, darkness, not even the king could free her from, leaving her broken. The warrior was the only one who tried to talk to her, free her from pain.”

“Does anyone know what happened to them eventually?” Téa asked.

Pegasus shook his head. “The story cuts off a while later, no one knows what happened to the 

Red Eyes after that. Quite a shame though; they were an interesting idea of dark dragons being used to fight off against darker monstrosities.” He sighed. “That’s the thing about archaeology though; you have to make do with what little is out there.”

“Well, either way, these are all great!” said Joey, clasping his hands together and bowing towards the silver-haired man. “Thanks, Mr. Pegasus!” 

“You’re quite welcome, I’d just like to see how you play with them soon.”

“Of course!” Joey said nodding enthusiastically, excited to show these off to Yuya in the future. The boy is gonna be so surprised! 

…

…

…

After his aunt and uncle had finished delivering them their presents, their friends headed home, while Cecilia and Pegasus took the guest room. 

“Yugi,” Atem called to his boyfriend as Yugi was heading out of the door. 

“Hmm?” Yugi asked, turning towards Atem.

Atem blushed. “Would you...would you mind spending the night with me?”

“Oh? Uh, no, I’d love to,” Yugi replied as Atem placed a kiss on his lips and the two of them headed upstairs to Atem’s bedroom.

“Ohhhh~” Mana teased with a grin. 

“Shut it Mana,” Atem called halfway up the stairs, leading a blushing Yugi to his bedroom. This wasn’t the first time Yugi and Atem spent the night with each other, far from it, but Mana always likes to tease them, especially when she sees the evidence of the two of them having turned intimate the previous night.

“Just don’t be too loud, Aty!” Mana called back giggling as Atem groaned before he closed the door behind him, and locked it. Yugi sat on the bed. 

“Hey, Yugi…” Atem called before taking any of his clothes off.

“Ye-yeah?” Yugi asked, there was something a bit weird about Atem’s tone and voice. Atem who had had his back to Yugi, turned his head just a little bit, smirking at the shorter boy, eyes half laid. 

“I felt it, you know,” Atem said. 

“F-felt what?” Yugi asked, his cheeks turning red as Atem turned around fully and came closer, his face inches away from Yugi’s own. 

“Your excitement,” Atem whispered.

“Um..wh-what… what do you--?”

“The way that girl talked about me, how I would make a perfect vampire. How good I’d be at seducing my prey, when all I would have to do is speak, and look at them with my ruby eyes,” 

Atem’s voice was husky, making Yugi’s heart thrummed in his chest, his face getting a darker blush. This was one of the downsides of having a mental link with one another; sometimes in the heat of the moment, you couldn’t block off powerful thoughts.

“Were you thinking of me like that? Were you thinking of me seducing you as a creature of the night?” Atem asked, raising an eyebrow, smirking.

“Shut up!” Yugi said. “It was just...I mean... shewaskindarightandthatdidsoundhot …”

“Oh is it, now?” Atem purred, licking his incisors as if they were fangs ready to pierce Yugi’s neck. 

“S-stop that!” Yugi yelled indignantly. 

Atem chuckled, deep and rich. “Why should I? You clearly like it,” Atem purred again, placing his hand under Yugi’s chin forcing him to look into Atem’s eyes. “Do you want me to do it? Do you want me to pretend to be a vampire lord or king, and seduce my pretty prey?” 

Yugi gulped. Atem had the power of the shadows, the power to allure people if he so chose to. 

Already the boy could see darkness swirling in Atem’s blood-red eyes...but he never feared 

Atem. To him, Atem was a kind and gentle warrior, and being around him made him feel feelings opposite of the dark like safety, love, and loyalty. The Shadow Games that he had seen Atem do, to save him, save his friends, scared Yugi that Atem would get hurt or become inflicted with punishments that would break the minds of a normal man, but Yugi never became scared of Atem himself. Atem loved him, and he loved Atem back. 

The Darkness was alluring in Atem, his ruby eyes became darker, his body and mind sang with power. And Yugi liked it. He liked everything in Atem. 

“I’d…” Yugi looked away, still a little embarrassed. Then he shook his head. “Maybe for a later date.”

Atem chuckled before placing a kiss on Yugi’s cheek. “Fine, but I can’t wait for that day, love.”

The two of them changed their clothes as they laid on Atem’s bed, with Yugi taking the slightly oversized sleeping shirt from Atem, while Atem laid on the bed bare-chested. Yugi laid his head on Atem’s chest, placing a kiss on his heart before hugging the taller boy closer to him, and nuzzled his chest. Atem chuckled, placing a kiss on Yugi’s forehead, letting the two of them fall asleep. 

But as they were about to sleep, Atem noticed the puzzle box, its single eye staring at them, judging them. Something about it made him feel uneasy, and the way Yugi declared he’d solved it made him feel...excited? Anxious? It felt like whatever the box had in store, it was calling out for both of them.

Atem pulled Yugi to him tighter, “Good night,” he whispered. 

Yugi smiled softly and replied. “Night.” 

They were both happy It was the weekend the next day, so neither of them had to wake up early or get ready to head to school, they were just happy to spend the night together. 

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

**Seraphic Knight of Illusion**

**LIGHT/ Level 4 / Warrior / Effect / ATK 1400 / DEF 1800**

**Effect: Once per turn: You can activate this effect; Change this card’s Attribute to LIGHT or DARK. This card gains the following effects based on its attribute.**

  * **LIGHT: If this card is used for an Xyz Summon, the monster gains 500 ATK during the Battle Phase.**


  * DARK: If this card is used for an Xyz Summon, once per turn, select one monster the opponent controls and decrease its ATK and DEF by 500 until the end of the opponent’s turn.



**Note: Based on Shizuka Kawaii/Serenity Wheeler.**

  
  


**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

**Hunter of Illusion**

**DARK/Level 4/Warrior/Effect/1700 ATK/1500 DEF**

**Effect: Once per turn: You can activate this effect; Change this card’s Attribute to LIGHT or DARK. This card gains the following effects based on its attribute.**

  * **LIGHT: Increase the attack of this monster by 1000 during damage calculation**


  * DARK: If this monster battles a Defense Position monster, inflict piercing damage.



**Note: Based on Hiroto Honda/Tristan Taylor**

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

**Illusion Bard**

**WIND / Level 4 / Spellcaster / Effect / ATK 1400 / DEF 1200**

**Effect: Once per turn: You can activate this effect; Change this card's Attribute to LIGHT or DARK. This card gains the following effects based on its attribute.**

  * **LIGHT: Once per turn, you can add 1 "Illusion" monster from your Deck to your hand.**


  * DARK: Once per turn, you can add 1 "Illusion" Spell/Trap Card from your Deck to your hand. 



**Note: Based on Ryou Bakura. (When Dark Attribute, he’s based on Dark Bakura)**

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

**Illusion Dragon Priest**

**FIRE / Level 4 / Spellcaster / Effect / ATK 1700 / DEF 1300**

**Effect: Once per turn: You can activate this effect; Change this card's Attribute to LIGHT or DARK. This card gains the following effects based on its attribute.**

  * **LIGHT: Once per turn, you can increase the Levels of all "Illusion" monsters you control by 2.**


  * DARK: Once per turn, you target 1 "Illusion" Xyz Monster you control: Xyz Summon 1 "Illusion" Xyz Monster from your Extra Deck whose Rank is 2 Ranks higher than that target, using that target as the Xyz Material. (Xyz Materials on that monster become Xyz Materials on the summoned monster). 



**Note: Based on Seth/Priest Seto**

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

**Illusion Healer**

**WATER / Level 4 / Spellcaster / Effect / ATK 100 / DEF 1800**

**Effect: Once per turn: You can activate this effect; Change this card's Attribute to LIGHT or DARK. This card gains the following effects based on its attribute.**

  * **LIGHT: Cannot be targeted for attacks but does not prevent your opponent from attacking directly. Also, during each of your End Phases, gain 1000 LP.**



  * **DARK: Once per turn: You can Special Summon 1 LIGHT or DARK "Illusion" monster from your GY, and, if that monster was an Xyz Monster; You can attach 1 card from your GY to that monster as an Xyz Material.**



**Note: Based on Anzu Masaki/Téa Gardener**

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

**Hero of Illusion**

**LIGHT / Rank 4 / Warrior / Xyz / Effect / ATK 2000 / DEF 1500 / 2 Level 4 Monsters**

**Effect: Once per turn: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; Special Summon 1 "Illusion" Monster from your hand. This card gains 200 ATK and DEF for every LIGHT and DARK monster on the field.**

**Note: Based on Jounouchi Katsuya/Joey Wheeler**

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

**Champion of Illusion**

**LIGHT / Rank 6 / Warrior / Xyz / Effect / ATK 2400 / DEF 2000 / 2 Level 6 Monsters**

**Effect: Monsters your opponent controls lose 400 ATK and DEF for each LIGHT and DARK monster on the field. Once per turn, you can return 1 "Illusion" Monster to your hand; Special Summon 1 "Illusion" Monster from your deck. (Quick Effect): You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; This turn, if this card battles a monster, destroy that monster at the start of the Damage Step.**

**Note: Based on Yugi Muto**

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

**Monarch of Illusion**

**LIGHT / Rank 8 / Warrior / Xyz / Effect / ATK 3000 / DEF 2500 / 3 Level 8 Monsters**

**Effect: When this card is Xyz Summoned successfully: You can activate this effect; destroy all cards on the field except "Illusion" cards. Once per turn: You can shuffle 1 "Illusion" Card from your GY into your deck; Draw 1 card. (Quick Effect): You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; This turn, this card is unaffected by your opponent's card effects. If this card would be destroyed by battle, you can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card instead.**

**Note: Based on Atem/Yami Yugi.**

**Note: The preceding cards were created by Donjusticia for the use of this story. Creative credit belongs to him.**

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

**Illusion Image**

**Spell / Normal**

**Image: Monarch of Illusion summoning a massive dragon into battle.**

**Effect: Special Summon 1 "Illusion" Monster from your hand with its effects negated, also, return that card to your hand during the End Phase.**

**Note: The dragon on the card is the Eye of Timaeus.**

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

**Palace of Illusion (Spell Card)**

**Field Spell**

**Image: A white castle with a garden filled with blue-white flowers and black butterflies.**

**Description: Every time an Illusion monster is summoned, place one ‘Illusion Counter’ on this card. If this card should be destroyed, you can offer one “Illusion Counter” instead. Once per turn, you can offer as many Illusion Counters on this card; and activate the following effects depending on the number of tokens offered.**

  * **Two counters: Draw one card (max. 3)**


  * Four counters: Shuffle one ‘Illusion’ monster from your graveyard to your deck.


  * Six counters: (Quick Effect) Negate the effect of one of your opponent’s cards that would target an Illusion monster.







	5. Enter the Dragon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're here with another chapter. 
> 
> Look guys, we really really have no idea how we got here but here we are!
> 
> You'll understand when you read the chapter. We just had so much fun with it, I really don't know how it escalated into this, but we regret nothing. 
> 
> Have Fun, and please leave a comment 
> 
> The names Akiza and Aki are interchangeable in this fic. Also even though we tried to use Dub names in this Sayer is Divine 
> 
> 5 Comments and we'll post the next chapter

The voices of the cheering crowd echoed through the dark walls within the arena.

But this wasn't in some fancy arena in the Tops section of Neo-Domino. No, the arena would not be filled with cheers for quite some time. When the Friendship Cup begins, then everyone from the Tops will fill the seats and cheer on the competitors (but mostly they will love seeing the losers fail, relishing in the schadenfreude )

This was a duel in the underground, where most Tops would never set foot in. But that's fine by the audience. They're here for their own brand of entertainment and duelists that you could't find anywhere else.

"Ladies and gentleman! The semi-finals of our grand tournament continues!" The Master of Ceremonies yelled excitedly into his microphone, as the lights on the ceiling shined on him. He wore a bright pink suit and a yellow and red bow-tie as he added, "And here are our next contestants! First off is the fresh new face of a Fabled Duelist, ladies and gentlemen please welcome...Xavier Maxa!"

Cheers erupted as smoke formed and the competitor strolled down the steps toward the dueling grounds. He was tall, around sixteen, with short brown hair that framed his face, and wore a large white long-sleeved button blouse with ruffles ending with zipper teeth. Over that he wore a short blue faux leather jacket, black slacks and matching black boots. Covering his eyes were a pair of black sunglasses. He also wore a bracelet with a silver cross dangling on the end over his left wrist.

"Thank you, thank you!" Xavier said, bowing to the crowd with a big grin on his face. "Wow, I'm really excited! Thanks for supporting me! I promise to give you quite a show!"

"And his opponent, you know her and fear her...it's the formidable, the powerful and dangerous rose amongst the thorns. Everyone listen! Here she comes! Neo Domino City's very own Black Rose Witch !" The announcer added.

The other duelist arrived as a silent hush filled the arena. She wore a white featureless mask on her face, and a big brown cloak that covered her entire body. Locks of fiery red hair fell down past her shoulders over the cloak. There were whispers from the crowd, rumors circulating about the dreaded power from the Black Rose Witch. How she could summon a dragon to devour enemies whole. How she unleashed vines to attack and strangle those who would mock her and her power.

This was Xavier's opponent and Xavier knew that every single rumor about her was true.

 _So this is where I die..._ Xavier thought, swallowing the lump in his throat. He took a slow deep breath through his nose. _No, don't think that way...after all, the duel hasn't started...yet._

"Now if both contestants are ready!" The announcer continued, wanting to hype up the crowd.

"The Black Rose Witch!"

"She's gonna kill us!"

"This is gonna be awesome!"

"Yeah let him have it!"

"Burn the witch!"

"Black Rose Witch! Black Rose Witch!"

Cheers and jeering went from the crowd, ready for bloodshed. Everyone here wanted a good duel - a blood pumping, exciting and dangerous duel. Officially, this place is unknown, it does not exist. Unofficially, even Sector Security can't be allowed in, and most of the higher ups order them not to interfere.

Neo-Domino City had gone through a lot of changes in the past, this arena is one of them. This place used to belong to normal people, the middle class, and the lower class would gather here in order to be able to duel. It was turned into an underground dwelling and a place for the strong to win prizes, and the weak would probably perish into nothing, or pick themselves up to try again.

This place has become one of the small ways Security and the City Council keeps the lower people from rioting, giving them small satisfying distractions, and empty promises, and yet they would still step on the weak and helpless.

Well, until _they_ came along.

They called themselves the Enforcers, and they became the Tops' and Security's biggest bane of existence. The Enforcers were a group of four boys who were strong enough to stand against Security, sometimes going as far as to chain themselves to a duelist, beat them and then the cable would shut down the Duel Disk of the loser, disabling it. The four of them managed to drive the intruders away again and again, and build themselves and others a safe haven simply known as "Satisfaction Town".

To try and fix this mess, and stop any and all thoughts of rebellion, the council and the head of Security, Jean-Michel Roget came up with a plan to stop them: they "promised" that it was a way to make the city better, to reinforce commodities between all of its citizens, simply known as The Friendship Cup. The tournament would happen once a year, with the winner becoming the king (or queen) and the head of Neo-Domino City. The Enforcers agreed to the terms, and sent one of their own to duel in that tournament, while the others stayed in case Satisfaction Town would be in danger. The one that was sent was none other than Jack Atlas.

True to form, the Enforcer won and became King, however all did not go as planned for The Enforcers. Jack Atlas had an ego of his own that without his friends kept being fed, in no time, he became a puppet king, and no change at all had happened in Neo-Domino.

Well...until the next Friendship Cup that is.

The next year, the Friendship Cup started once more, and another Enforcer headed to challenge King Jack - the Stardust Accelerator Yusei Fudo. The duel was intense, the Wheel of Fortune speeding off against the Yusei Go. Dragon versus Dragon, Enforcer versus Enforcer. Neither of them held back and even now, the duel is passed down from children who were there to witness it, although they tended to exaggerate the tinier details.

In the end, Yusei won. It was such a spectacular and amazing duel that no one had seen before. The moment he and Jack got off of their D-wheels, Yusei punched Jack's face with no hesitation, with anger and bitterness in his voice for how Jack could cave in so easily and forget what they were supposed to be fighting for.

Jack said nothing as he was dragged by Security to the underground, where all the losers were sent to, for the rest of his life. All for the sake of bringing in peace between the Tops and Commons alike. The Tops who loved him in the past jeered at this fallen king and Jack Atlas knew that he deserved such a fate for losing his way. The Council and Roget were quite pleased, thinking that everything had gone according to plan. One Enforcer was down and another was about to become their newest plaything...

Or so they thought.

Such anger and hatred from the new crowned King was clear, and they thought they could take advantage of him and manipulate him as they did Jack Atlas before him. But they were wrong. This judgment of theirs became their undoing.

Hours later, the other two Enforcers arrived, and the three of them headed to the underground. It didn't take long before everyone was released and let go, to return to their families and have their cards used as currency within the walls of the Facility given back to them. Jack apologized for his stupidity and weakness to the three of them, ashamed for what his pride and desire for a throne did to his mind. The other two Enforcers, Crow Hogan and Kalin Kissler, let Jack have it, Crow yelled and scolded Jack while Kalen just punched his stomach and shook his head, giving a few warning words to Jack.

It took some doing to have the prisoners finally be free after so long, but the guards couldn't say No to the new King of the Friendship Cup. And needless to say, Roget and the council were not very happy. They tried reprimanding Yusei for his actions, telling him that their way is made to "encourage" the fighting spirits between the Tops and the Commons. It didn't take Yusei three seconds to call the old coots on their bullshit, stating that the Tops cared for the Commons as the master of a household "cared" for the slaves working for him. That what they're doing was nothing but a show of power, reminding the Tops that they always would have their lofty seats and money while simultaneously crushing the hopes of the Commons who earnestly thought they saw a way out of their situation, only to punish them for daring to try to rise up.

Roget even tried to duel Yusei, but Yusei refused it. He didn't have to do anything, he won the Friendship Cup, he was King, and he has as much, if not even more power, than Roget and the Council themselves at the moment and what he says goes. And as long as he is the King, and has Neo-Domino's support he can do whatever he wants and release whoever he wants. When Roget looked ready to yell the three Enforcers behind Yusei activated their Duel Desks as a warning for him not to do anything stupid.

Roget and the Council were outraged at Yusei's audacity, but they could do nothing to stop him, these were the rules and agreement that were set. Ever since that moment Yusei dare defied his orders, Roget became determined to dethrone him as soon as possible. He sent duelist after duelist to defeat him, but no one got past the Enforcers to even duel the King himself.

Roget even tried in the next Friendship Cup, but it was all for naught. The contestant that dueled Yusei in the finals that year wasn't even one of his duelists but another Enforcer, Kallin Kissler. And whichever won that duel Neo-Domino would still be under the Enforcer's rule. And when it was found out that the duelists sent into the tournament were paid by Roget, well let's just say that Roget's popularity sunk to an all-time low.

Roget had lost. It was checkmate… for now.

But Jean-Michel was still determined to reclaim his kingdom, he made new plans, tried new strategies, but it was always a losing battle. From the support for these Enforcers by everyone in Neo-Domino, their decks and their loyalty towards one another, he had no way to usurp control. It drove him mad. He still searched for stronger and stronger duelists, and this underground arena was always a good place to start. Here, there could be a chance for him to dethrone these Enforcers and gain back the city.

And this time, who knows? There might be someone who indeed could face off the king and win the throne.

…

…

...

Oh yeah, I'm gonna die... Xavier thought as he looked at the Black Rose Witch preparing her Duel Disk but he did his best to smile as he noticed someone in the audience smiling with a smile of a serpent. But if that guy's here, then I better make sure I don't show my fear.

"So…" Xavier began, trying to make small talk. "Um...Akiza Izinski aka Black Rose Witch...your previous duel against that guy...er, Grady! Yes, Grady. It was quite...violent."

"It was a better fight than how you lasted against that oaf, Armstrong," Akiza answered. "Honestly, that person was nothing more than a brute who thought he could use his position as former Chief of Security to bully his way around; he was just a pathetic duelist in the end."

"Let me tell ya that as much as I love chains, those Iron Chain monsters were a pain to get through," Xavier remarked. "Thankfully I had a little help from Hate Buster to make him fall onto his fat ass."

Akiza said nothing to that, especially when she remembered seeing Armstrong tried to strangle the young boy before he silently walked backstage. She simply placed her deck back into her Duel Disk and walked a few steps away to make room for the duel to commence.

"Now then! If everyone is ready! Ready, set duel!" The MC shouted and the crowd cheered and yelled in excitement once more, calling for more spectacular duels.

Unbeknownst to them, someone was observing the duel with a calm look in their eyes. The cheers meant nothing to him, only how the Black Rose Witch showcased her power was all that was necessary. That pathetic boy, Xavier, was just a stepping stone in their plans to open everyone's eyes to the new movement that was blooming.

The Arcadia Movement.

The man's eyes looked from his prized pupil to a new face in the tournament, she was watching the duel with anticipation on her young face, she had green hair, with lighter shaded locks falling down her face, along with pretty amber eyes. She was a new face in the tournament, but from the duels that he had watched her in she was very powerful, with an amazing psychic potential that could rival his. It should be nurtured and used to its fullest potential, he thought with a dark smirk

Well well well... The man said, seeing the list of duelists for today on his tablet, particularly the duelists who were fighting after Xavier and Akiza. I can't wait to see how this ends up. He should be good enough to do what is needed. This might be easier than I thought.

What are you hiding from everyone, Rin?

…

…

...

"You know, Akiza," Xavier said, lifting his sunglasses up so they perch on his forehead. His eyes were a green-grey color. "I have a personal motto that I follow."

"Oh? What's that?" asked Akiza.

"'Everything has a dual nature.'" Xavier replied. "Everything, everyone, has two sides to them. Light, dark, day, night. Tops and Commons…even you have a second nature that you dare not show to the public, do you?"

Akiza flinched behind her mask. "What makes you say that?"

Xavier pointed to his face. "Because at least I'm brave enough to not hide behind a mask like I'm some phantom lurking beneath the sewers. What's wrong with you, Akiza? Why not show your pretty little face to the crowd?"

"...I'm not pretty." Akiza replied, voice soft and pretty much defeated, as if she's already compared herself to other girls and knew that she would never be in their league. "And I don't have to tell you why I wear my mask."

"Oh come on," Xavier said with a roll of his eyes. "Do you think I'm capable of turning heads with how I usually look? I mean, I'd be lucky if someone didn't demean me to be a coffee delivery gi- guy. Yeah, a coffee delivery guy."

Akiza's eyes narrowed. "Yeah, that's your problem. Let's just duel already."

Xavier raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong? You have a date after this is over?"

"No, but I have my patience with stupid questions worn very very thin," Akiza surmised. "I'm not in the mood for interviews."

"Okay then, who do I ask to see why you look more like a hag than a wit-"

"JUST START THE DUEL ALREADY!" Akiza's voice boomed across the arena.

"You heard her folks!" The MC announced. "We're about to face a might of fiends and roses here right now! Let's duel!"

Xavier sighed, slipping his sunglasses back on. "Yeah...okay. Let's duel!"

**(Xavier: 8000) - - - - - - - (Akiza: 8000)**

Damn it, nearly blew my cover back there. Xavier thought, drawing five cards. Keep it cool, C, keep it cool. How you managed to survive Armstrong and his barrage of deadly nose hairs is a miracle. Even if this isn't your deck, you can do this just fine.

_...Oh who am I kidding? This is the Black Rose Witch I'm facing! Not only do I have to contend with her Black Rose Dragon, but a Black Rose Dragon with real-live firebreath and thorns that could tear me to shreds! Well, I honestly wish I could have those powers to burn my old boss alive like the coffee beans of every single cup of coffee I had to -_

_No, no, stop! Focus on the duel. You can think about having a cup of coffee later. Just duel, hide in the audience, watch the rest of the tournament then get out. Simple as that…._

_Ooooh...how the hell did I even get this far in the tournament anyhow?!_

"Are you going to duel or look like a rabbit about to be eaten?" Akiza exclaimed.

"I'm gonna start, just give me some time!" Xavier said, taking a deep breath. "Right, now I draw!" He drew a card before showing it to Akiza. "And first I start with Foolish Burial to send a card to the graveyard."

He played the common Spell Card of the person who foolishly made a grave for themselves and slipped an additional card to the graveyard.

"That's not the only card going to their eternal rest. Next, I'm going to discard Fabled Grimro to Special Summon The Fabled Nozoochee in Attack Mode!"

Xavier slipped a card from his hand to the graveyard, depicting a woman with grey skin, a black dress made of black feathers, a headdress of a black bird on her head and red pumps. She took a red-eyed glance at Xavier before she vanished. Then, appearing on the field was a strange yellow serpent with a small blue helmet, constricted around a blue imp. (1200 ATK)

Fabled? Akiza thought. Right, I remember those. He kept discarding card after card to activate effects. And depending on the cards he discarded, they either came back to the field or allowed him to unleash powerful effects.

"And since The Fabled Nozoochee was Special Summoned this way, I'm allowed to Special Summon another 'Fabled' monster from my hand whose Level is 2 or lower. So I summon Fabled Raven to the field!"

With a caw, a grey robed figure emerged, wearing a cape edged with black feathers tipped with red on the shoulders and by the hem. He wore a black hood with red eyes leering at Akiza. (1300 ATK)

"Now I'm going to tune my Level 2 The Fabled Nozoochee and Fabled Raven together!"

Fabled Raven nodded his head as he turned into two shining stars. Meanwhile, The Fabled Nozoochee spun around and round until it became three green rings. The two stars entered the rings as the arena began to shine with a bright light.

**(2* + 2* = 4*)**

"Fabled serpent and black winged demon, unleash your light and bring forth a steed of loyalty and enchantment to those with a pure of heart. Synchro Summon! Level 4! The Fabled Unicore!"

With a whinny, a new monster appeared with a snort. It was a unicorn the color of fresh milk, wearing a black saddle and helm trimmed with gold. He had a long bushy tail where a tiny white imp rested on. It pawed the ground with a hoof, red eyes staring at Aki, silver horn like a lance ready to pierce her heart. (2300 ATK)

Sweet! Got Unicore out on my first try. Now let's see how Akiza can fight him off. Xavier said with a grin.

"And since I haven't Normal Summoned. Allow me to do that right now. I summon Fabled Urustos in Attack Mode!"

With a cackle, another Fabled monster appears dressed in a hooded funeral shroud with crimson threads wrapped around his waist and shoulders, like an angel of death. His wings were dark grey with the ridges being skeletal bones. (1500 ATK)

"And because I have less than two cards in my hand, Fabled Urustos can activate his effect to increase the attack of all 'Fabled' monsters I control by 400."

Urustos cackled and beat his wings to whip up a dark wind that boosted his and Unicore's attack. (Fabled Urustos: 1500 -) 1900 ATK, The Fabled Unicore: 2300 -) 2700 ATK)

"I end my turn there," said Xavier, now reduced to one card in hand.

"My turn!" Akiza said and drew a card. "I summon Twilight Rose Knight to the field."

The monster was a small boy with silver hair and red eyes, wearing black armour and a white cape. He held a sword up in the air, with a set lip and a determined look on his face.(1300 ATK)

"Then I can activate his special ability, I can special summon one lv 4 or lower plant monster from my hand and I choose Lord Poison."

Twilight Rose Knight pointed his sword to the ground as another monster appeared. It was a misshapen blob with spikes coming out of several places in its body and long big claws. (1500 ATK)

Oh no…. Xavier thought. This is the Black Rose Witch's most well-known combo!

"Now I tune my Level Three Twilight Rose Knight and my Level Four Lord Poison!" Akiza declared and the audience knew just what was in store.

Twilight Rose Knight leapt into the air, transforming into a trio of green rings while Lord Poison curled into a ball and shrunk itself into four white stars. The four stars zipped into the rings as everyone watched Aki summon her most well-known monster.

**(*3 + *4 = *7)**

"Chilling flames engulf the entire world. Pitch-dark flower, set into bloom! Synchro Summon! Appear now, Black Rose Dragon!"

Black Rose Dragon appeared with a roar, with two vine wipes, and red scales around her neck forming in what looks like a red rose.(2400 ATK)

The dragon roared, causing the audience to tremble in fear. Xavier gulped, glasses nearly falling off of his face as he saw the black scales and magnetal rose petal wings of the dragon, a mish mash of danger and beauty.

Cheers and gasps erupted from the crowd as Black Rose Dragon was summoned, screams of joy and fear blended together. The dragon's vine wipes slashed at the stage breaking off the ground.

"This is it! The MC shouted. "The Black Rose Witch isn't playing around if her most powerful and well known monster is out to unleash some chaos!"

Oh well, living was nice. Xavier thought as he saw with his own eyes the damage that was done to the arena up close and personal. Okay, this might be just a tactic to scare me, but to be fair...it's working!

"Now I equip my Black Rose Dragon with the Equip Spell Thorn of Malice!" Akiza continued.

Akiza played a card, showing off a dragon eye glaring within a wall of thorns. Numerous thorns then flew from the card and wrapped themselves around Black Rose Dragon.

"Now my Black Rose Dragon gains 600 Attack points and can inflict piercing damage, and whoever she fights doesn't get destroyed but will lose 600 attack and defense points instead. Go Black Rose Dragon, attack his Fabled Unicore!"

Black Rose Dragon roared (2400 -) 3000 ATK), her whips now covered in thorns as she The Fabled Unicore, the thorns wrapping around him and tightening, causing the unicorn to whinny in panic. Xavier grunted, seeing his Synchro monster weakened and his lifepoints dropping slightly. (2700/1000 -) 2100/400).

**(Xavier: 7700) - - - - - - - (Akiza: 8000)**

"I place two cards face down, and end my turn," Akiza declared sliding two cards into the duel desk slots.

"What a first turn here ,folks!" MC shouted. "Both our competitors have strong Synchro monsters on the field, but only one will be left standing. Will this brave knight on his shining steed slay the dragon? Or will the dragon slay him?"

Xavier took a deep breath. Okay, not as bad as I thought this will be. I can turn this around though; thank god there's no cards that don't stop me from discarding cards.

"Alright! My turn!" Xavier said, drawing a card. "I play Akashic Record! When I play this card, I draw two cards from my deck and show them to you. If they were cards I already played, then they are banished. If not, I get to keep them."

Son of a bitch! Akiza growled. Of course he's going to keep both cards in his hand.

Xavier played his card, showing a crystalized Triceratops head and a collection of dinosaur bones. He drew two cards, showed them to Aki, then added them to his hand.

"But they're not staying long. I'm discarding both The Fabled Cerburrel and Fabled Krus to resurrect Fabled Soulkius from the graveyard!"

"Fabled Soulkius...but when did he…" Akiza paused. "Foolish Burial!"

"Yeah that card is a go-to for anything you want to bring back from the graveyard or just use in the graveyard these days. Now come back Soulkius, let's make this a party!"

Rising from the graveyard was a muscular man wearing a black shirt with teal trim, grey pants and a red mask over his face. He also had a pair of bat wings and a crocodile tail. (2200 ATK)

"And now let me introduce the effects of the two monsters I discarded. When The Fabled Cerburrel is discarded, he comes back to my field right as rain. And when Fabled Krus is discarded, I can take a Level 4 'Fabled' monster in my graveyard - other than herself - back to the field. So I'm bringing back Fabled Raven for another go!"

Rising onto the field was an adorable puppy with strawberry colored fur and three heads. It was on a leash in the hands of a small black imp. The three heads barked and turned to Xavier, running to their leg and pawing at it, wanting an ear scratch. (1000 ATK)

"So cute!"

"What a precious puppy!"

"Who's a good boy? Who's a good boy?" The audience cooed.

"Okay, okay," said Xavier, scratching behind the six ears of the puppy. "There, now, let me continue. Alright?"

Cerburrel barked before returning to the field, all while Black Rose Dragon looked ready to eat them whole. Meanwhile, the spirit of Fabled Krus, a light blue skinned and black haired girl in a black dress with white trim and large bat wings, rose from the graveyard alongside Fabled Raven. (1200 ATK)

"Now then, with my Level 6 Fabled Soulkius and my Level 2 The Fabled Cerburrel, it's time to Synchro Summon once more!".

Cerburrel howled and leapt into the air, turning into the Synchro rings. Soulkius did a forward flip and shrunk into six stars that fell in line and zipped into the rings.

**(*6 + *2 = *8)**

"Black winged marshal and Fabled watchdog who guards the Gates of Tartarus, let loose a mighty roar from within the Demon Realm and bring about chaos and destruction in your wake! Synchro Summon! Level 8! Fabled Valkyrus!"

With a booming laugh, a new demon rises onto the field. In contrast to Soukius, this demon wore black armor with gold circles around the arms and red on his chest plate and wrists. His wings were black and resemble that of a bat and he wore a black mask that covers most of his face while his head was topped with light orange hair. (2900 -) 3300 ATK)

"Valkyrus's effect! Once per turn I can discard a Fiend monster in my hand to draw a card."

Xavier discarded his card, Fabled Kushano, and drew a brand new card, smiling at what luck gave him. "Would you look at that?" he said. "It's Pot of Greed, so I can draw two more cards!"

Akiza snarled as Xavier played the card and then made two more draws. If those were anything that could be discarded, then she was in trouble.

"And now I'm tuning Fabled Valkyrus and Fabled Raven together! Get ready to meet my strongest monster!" Xavier declared.

Fabled Valkyrus and Fabled Raven nodded as they flapped their wings and flew into the sky. Fabled Raven turned into three green rings while Valkyrus transformed into eight stars. The stars danced and swirled around each other before entering the three rings as Xavier grinned.

**(*8 + *2 = *10)**

"Fabled watchdog who guards the gates of Tartarus and Fabled valkyrie from the land of the dead, let loose a mighty roar from within the Demon Realm and bring about chaos and destruction in your wake! Synchro Summon! Level 10! Come to my side, FABLED LEVIATHAN!"

From within the green rings, a figure sitting on a stone throne appeared, legs crossed. It is a demon king with long red hair and crimson battle armor decorated with gold trim and green emeralds in the center. Covering his eyes was a purple mask. (3000 ATK)

"Look at that folks!" MC shouted. "This is the same monster that gave Xavier the victory against Ironman Armstrong! Armstrong's Iron Chain Dragon may have defeated it in battle, but Leviathan's effect gave our Fabled Duelist the edge he needed to turn the tables."

"Our monsters are tied in strength," said Akiza.

"Are they?" Xavier replied. "Um, tell me, how many cards do I have in my hand?"

"Two."

"And how many do I need at the very least to have Urustos' effect active?"

Akiza gasped as Urustors laughed and Fabled Leviathan's attack now read 3400.

"Now Leviathan, incinerate Black Rose Dragon! Fabled Fire Blast!"

Fabled Leviathan flew into the air, wings unfurled as he casted a large ball of fire from his hand. He then hurled it toward his prey, wanting to see the pretty dragon burn into ash.

"Not so fast!" said Akiza. "I activate my face-down card, Impenetrable Attack!"

Akiza's face-down card flipped, revealing a superhero protected by a barrier. A similar barrier surrounded Akiza's dragon.

"What the heck?" Xavier whispered.

"This card allows me one of two abilities," said Akiza. "Either one monster I control isn't destroyed this turn or I take no battle damage. So I'll use the effect to save my dragon from your Fabled monster."

Fabled Leviathan gasped as the fire bounced off of Black Rose Dragon. He snarled before he returned to Xavier's side, sitting on a stone throne, legs crossed and arms folded over his chest with a frown.

**(Xavier: 7700) - - - - - - - (Akiza: 7600)**

"Oh and don't forget that any monster that goes into battle with my dragon equipped to Thorn of Malice loses 600 attack and defense points!"

Fabled Leviathan grunted, feeling the thorny vines strike him in the chest. (3400/2000 -) 2800/1400)

"And don't think I don't know what your unicorn is capable of," said Akiza. "I activate my other face-down card Lost Wind!"

Akiza's next face-down card lifted. This one depicted a boy in a red shirt and yellow pants looking into the depths of the dark woods as a large gust of wind blew past him.

"Lost Wind?" asked Xavier. "What does that do?"

"It halves the attack of your Unicore and negates its effect!" Akiza answered.

A groan filled the field as a howling wind struck Xavier's Synchro monster. The Fabled Unicore whinnied in terror as the dark winds caused it to weaken. (2100 -) 1050 ATK)

Damn, now my Unicore is useless. Xavier thought. But still, that's not what I'm aiming for.

"I'll end my turn with a face-down card," said Xavier, slipping a card into his Duel Disk. "Make your move, witch ."

"My move," said Akiza, drawing a card. "And now I activate my Trap Card, Ivy Shackles! As long as this card is on the field, all of your monsters become Plant-type on my turn."

As the card lifted, revealing a knight and a Giant Soldier of Stone entangled in vines, Xavier chuckled. "And what's that gonna accomplish exactly?" he asked with a smirk as if Akiza's move meant nothing. Even when thorns, vines and flowers bloomed over the bodies of his Fabled monsters.

"This. I play the Spell Card Fragrance Storm! I can sacrifice any Plant type monster on the field and draw one more card, if it's a plant Monster I can reveal it and draw another card, oh and by the way that includes your field too, and thanks to my Ivy Shackles, I can use one of your monsters."

Xavier flinched and gulped. "Uh-oh…"

"You got that right, so I'll send your Leviathan to the graveyard and draw one more card. If it's a Plant-type monster, I have to reveal it to you." Akiza said. "Anything else you want to say?"

Xavier watched Aki play a Spell Card of a purple flower in the middle of a tornado where two Plant monsters - Horseytail and Dandylion - were swallowed up into it. A tornado of flowers, plants and leaves struck Fabled Leviathan, causing him to scream as he exploded into flower petals.

"Just this...I activate the Trap Card Raigeki Break!" Xavier yelled. "Now if I discard one card I can destroy one card you control. The card I'm going to destroy is Ivy Shackles. And the card I'm discarding is... The Fabled Catsith !"

Xavie's face-down card flipped, showing someone pointing a finger and casting a spell that destroyed a monster. Meanwhile, a purple furred cat with a worm-like tail, a silver headpiece and a golden collar appeared on the field with a meow.

"AWWWW!" The audience cooed at the little kitty playing around with an imp in its paws.

"Oh this is getting good folks!" MC gasped. "This is the very same combo that Xavier used to destroy Armstrong's Iron Chain Dragon once and for all. Who would've thought such a cute little kitty could be so dangerous?"

A bolt of lightning struck Akiza's Ivy Shackles card, as The Fabled Catsith yowled and leapt onto Black Rose Dragon.

"Black Rose!" Akiza yelled, outraged as the cat somehow scratched its claws across Black Rose Dragon's neck causing her to shatter.

"Sorry Lady Black Rose, but you're done for," Xavier said with a carless shrug. But in his mind he was thinking, Oh gods, oh gods oh gods! I just destroyed Black Rose Dragon, I just did that!

"You're gonna pay for that," Akiza vowed. "When Ivy Shackles is destroyed by one of your cards, I get to draw another card."

"And if you forgot from my duel with Armstrong, when Fabled Leviathan is destroyed, I can return three 'Fabled' monsters to my hand," Xavier said, swiftly taking three cards from the graveyard. "However, because of this Urustos loses his ability."

Akiza drew another card. Urustos groaned as his attack reduced to 1500.

"You have gotten on my last nerve, Xavier," Akiza growled. "You have no idea how pissed off I am."

"Oh? Do tell~" Xavier said.

"YOUR STUPID DECK AND THOSE FABLED MONSTERS HAVE DRIVEN ME MAD!" Akiza shouted. "And do you know what you just did? I lost my dragon to a cat! A CAT!"

"I thought you'd be proud; witches and cats go together like coffee and donuts."

"How the hell do you not go insane constantly discarding and Special Summoning and bringing monsters back to your hand?!" Aki continued. "I completely lost track of all of your moves when I observed you duel Armstrong! Even I couldn't answer that question as to what monster was at the bottom of your graveyard!"

"Well, duh ," Xavier said, glad that particular Spell Card saved his ass. "It was his fault for playing a mill deck in the first place. Then again, even without that question he would've lost either way because all he cares about is lashing out those chains at me."

"I'm gonna tear your deck into pieces if I ever get my hands on it." Akiza vowed.

"Oh don't do that! You'll break their little hearts." Xavier said, hand on his heart. "My sweet Cerburrel and Catsith just want to be your friends, Akiza."

Akiza felt like she wanted to scream. "They can be my dragon's next meal!"

"Uh it's a ghost; ghosts don't eat."

"ARE YOU ALWAYS A FUCKING SMART ASS?!"

"Depends on the role."

"Fine." Akiza growled. "Let's just finish this duel already. I use the card that I just drew from Ivy Shackles you destroyed, Mark of the Rose! Now I get to choose one of your monsters and equip it to him then take control of it. And I choose your Unicore!"

Akiza played her new card, depicting Vampire Lord looking in horror at a rose tattoo on his cheek. A mark of a rose appeared on Unicore's back like a brand, making him move forwards and stand by Akiza's side.

"Oh no, give him back!" Xavier exclaimed.

"That's not on the agenda, for my next move I play Pot of Greed and draw two new cards."

Akiza played the well known Spell Card and made two new draws. She wasn't sure what to think of them until she felt a soft growl in her mind. Then it all became quite clear what was next.

"Now then, I summon to the field White Rose Dragon!"

The dragon was small, and delicate looking with its body being black, with scales around his neck that took the shape of a rose also trailing alongside its wings with blue eyes.(1200 ATK)

"AWWWWW!" Some of the audience cooed. Even the MC was looking at how it yawned and spewed out a single white ball of flames from its mouth.

"And since she was Normal Summoned, I get to Special Summon another 'Rose Dragon' from my hand or graveyard, so come on out Red Rose Dragon!"

This dragon was also small, with brown body, two roses blooming on top of his back, with green scales like grass around them, as well as light green eyes.(1000 ATK)

"Oh… I'd be cooing at how cute they both are, but I know these two will spell my doom with their little claws." Xavier replied.

"Oh they won't be little for long, Now I'll tune my Level 4 White Rose Dragon with my Level 3 Red Rose Dragon."

Wait, what type of monster is Akiza summoning now?! Xavier thought, eyes shrinking.

Red Rose Dragon and White Rose Dragon flew into the air, circling one another. Red Rose Dragon turned into a pair of Synchro rings and White Rose Dragon turned into four white stars and flew straight through the rings. A bright yellow light filled the arena, shining like the moon.

**(*4 + *3 = *7)**

"Lofty rose that buds in a garden of integrity! Bloom here, watered by blue moonlight! Synchro Summon Level 7, Rise with the moon, Black Rose Moonlight Dragon!"

The Dragon that came looked very similar to Black Rose Dragon, however his scales were a softer shade of red, and his wings spread had the same petal looking shape scales on them,it made him look bigger than the previous dragon, with spiky vines swishing around. (2400 ATK)

"You have two of them?!" Xavier asked, his voice squeaking a bit. Oh god did I just voice crack?! No, the more important thing is that Akiza has two Black Rose Dragons? Ooh, all the research I did was for naught! I'm gonna die for sure!

"Black Rose Moonlight Dragon is a little different from Black Rose Dragon," Akiza grinned. "If he or another monster were Special Summoned and they were a LV 5 or higher, I return that monster to your hand."

"Wait, Moonlight Dragon is a boy?!"

Akiza ignored the question. "Now since White Rose Dragon was used as a Synchro Material I get to send one plant monster from my deck to the graveyard and I send Glow Up-Bulb."

"Wait what's that gonna accomplish?" asked Xavier, trying to calm down from the shock of seeing another Rose Synchro Dragon.

"You'll see in a minute," Aki answered. "And since my Red Rose Dragon was also used for a Synchro Summon, I get to summon a dragon monster from my deck. So to complete the collection of Rose Dragons, I summon Blue Rose Dragon!"

Another rose dragon, this one more serpentine and with blue rose petals slithered onto the field. (1600 ATK)

"Now I use the effect of my Glow-Up Bulb! Once per duel, I can send the top card of my deck to the graveyard and summon it back to the field!"

Akiza sent the top card in her deck to the graveyard and Glow-up Bulb was summoned back, its single eye blinked open. (100 DEF)

"Oh wait a second, now I realized what sending Glow-up Bulb to the graveyard is gonna accomplish. That's a Tuner!" Xavier gasped.

"You got that right!" Akiza grinned. "And since I have a Tuner and one of your monsters on my field, I'll get rid of it so you won't get it back easily."

"Oh…" Xavier groaned. So much for my strategy.

"I tune my Level 1 Glow-Up Bulb and Level 4 The Fabled Unicore!"

Glow-Up Bulb blinked its eye and turned into three rings while The Fabled Unicore ran into them, leapt and transformed into four stars. The stars shimmered as they began to form into a humanoid figure.

**(*4 + *1 = *5)**

"Roses blooming in the Black Garden, make way for the beautiful Maiden! Synchro Summon! Level 5! Bloom, Garden Rose Maiden!"

A large white rose bloomed on the field before a pale white arm rose from within the center. The rose folded out to reveal a white gown and the arm was accompanied with a body of a young woman with pale blond hair and a black rose on her head. She looked at Xavier with a gentle smile on her heart shaped face. (1600 ATK)

"Oh this is not good... " Xavier gulped.

"Now thanks to her affect, I can bring the Field Spell 'Black Garden' to my hand," said Aki, reaching for a card from her deck. "And would you look at that? My monster is stronger than that fallen angel of yours! Know what that means?"

The Rose Maiden glared and extended her hands, the vines around her wrapping around Urustros until he was destroyed.

**(Xavier: 7600) - - - - - - - (Akiza: 7600)**

"Now Blue Rose Dragon! Black Rose Moonlight Dragon, attack directly!"

The dragon opened his mouth and blue flames like mist were sent towards Xavier. The flames didn't touch him, but he could feel the burning of the fire near him.

**(Xavier: 6000) - - - - - - - (Akiza: 7600)**

The large Synchro dragon roared and its vines wrapped around Xavier striking him down. The boy fell to his knees and panted as he scrambled to pick up his sunglasses. The crowd roared in excitement, relishing in the bloodshed.

**(Xavier: 3600) - - - - - - - (Akiza: 7600)**

"Oh, what's the matter?" Akiza taunted. "I thought you suffered worse from Armstrong's chains."

"Lemme tell you Akiza. I'm into a lot of things. Bondage ain't one of them!" Xavier replied, rising to his feet. Akiza's eye twitched. "Also your monsters hit harder than holograms ya know."

"I end my turn, give me your worst." Akiza said.

"Alright, my turn! I draw!" said Xavier. "And like last time, I'll discard two cards in my hand to bring back Fabled Soulkius!"

Xavier took two cards from his hand into the graveyard as Soulkius reemerged, looking ready to lash his tail out at someone. (2200 ATK)

"Fabled Soulkius is Level 6, which means that it's affected by Black Rose Moonlight Dragon's effect!" said Akiza.

"But it's only once per turn, right?" Xavier asked with a smile.

Akiza looked confused as Soulkius bounced back into Xavier's hand. Surely there couldn't be another high level Fabled monster he could summon now, especially when he had no monsters on the field.

"Oh and need I remind you that two of the cards I retrieved from Fabled Leviathan's effect were The Fabled Catsith and Fabled Krus?" said Xavier. "This means that The Fabled Catsith can destroy another one of your face-up cards and Fabled Krus allows me to Special Summon a Level 4 or lower 'Fabled' monster in my graveyard!"

The Fabled Catsith and Fabled Krus appeared once more as the former ran towards Black Rose Dragon and latched onto its face, scratching and clawing at it as the dragon thrashed about. As Fabled Catsith worked on destroying the monster, Fabled Krus petted the heads of Cerburrel gently before lowering him to the ground.

"HOW MANY TIMES IS THAT MUTT GOING TO APPEAR IN THIS DUEL?!" Akiza yelled just as Black Rose Dragon was destroyed.

"Depends," Xavier said. "Now, I am tributing The Fabled Cerburrel to summon Fabled Dianara!"

Cerburrel let out a chorus of howls before it disintegrated into dust. Then, taking its place was an 8-foot fiend with pink skin, his face covered by a green and gold luchador mask, and he also wore matching tights and boots. He flexed his hands out, showing off gold talons. (2800 ATK)

"Wait, that's a Level 8 monster; how could you summon it with a single tribute?" asked Aki.

"Because if I tribute a 'Fabled' monster to summon it, then it counts as two!" Xavier replied.

Aki roared to the sky. "You know what?! YOUR ENTIRE DECK IS BULLSHIT!"

"Oh what's the matter Black Rose? Getting frustrated that you can't just destroy my entire field easily?"

"I'M GONNA TURN YOU INTO A CHEW TOY FOR MY BABY DRAGONS TO MAUL!"

"I'd like to see you try. Go Fabled Dianara, attack Blue Rose Dragon!"

Fabled Dianara rushed towards Blue Rose Dragon, slicing it into ribbons with his claws before returning to Xavier's field.

**(Xavier: 3600) - - - - - - - (Akiza: 6400)**

"Fine, since you destroyed my Blue Rose Dragon, Black Rose Dragon is resurrected!"

From the ground, black vines were uprooted as the Black Rose Dragon came back, ready to devour Xavier whole. (2400 ATK)

"And I end my turn with a face-down card," said Xavier, slipping another card into his Duel Disk. "Now then, better make this next move count."

"I draw!" Akiza said, drawing a card from her deck, her eyes narrowed. "And first I attack your Fabled Dianaira with Garden Rose Maiden!"

"Wait what why?!" Xavier asked. "You just lose a monster and more life points!"

"The Black Rose Witch has gone crazy!" MC shouted. "She's going to lose her maiden to that wicked monster!"

Garden Rose Maiden looked in alarm but had no choice but to lash out at Fabled Dianara with her vines. Dianara grinned as he grabbed some and then pulled Garden Rose Maiden to his side. The woman screamed as Dianara sliced her head off with his claws.

**(Xavier: 3600) - - - - - - - (Akiza: 5200)**

"True, but this also means I can activate Maiden's effect, If I banish her from the graveyard I get to Special Summon one Dragon Synchro monster also from my graveyard."

Oh...shit that's not good! Xavier thought.

"Black Rose Moonlight Dragon, rise once more!"

Black Rose Moonlight Dragon returned, growling at Fabled Dianaira and wanting to chew his head clean off. (2400 ATK)

"And since it was Special Summoned, I can return Fabled Dianaira to your hand!" Aki proclaimed.

The dragon's eyes became red, and with a scratch and a whip of its vine at Dianaira, the monster was back in Xavier's hand.

"Oh no oh no oh no…." Xavier gulped. Now she has both of her dragons on the field again.

"Now! Black Rose Dragon attack!"

Black Rose Dragon roared, unleashing a fiery breath towards Xavier. But he remained calm as he shouted, "I activate Defense Draw! During the damage calculations I can activate it, the damage becomes 0 and I get to draw one card."

"That's fine, I still got one more attack," Akiza pointed out as Xavier drew another card from his hand. "Black Rose Moonlight Dragon go!"

Black Rose Moonlight Dragon lashed out at Xavier with his thorns, causing Xavier to be knocked back and falling onto his butt in pain.

**(Xavier: 1200) - - - - - - - (Akiza: 5200)**

"I shall end my turn with a face-down card," said Akiza, slipping her final card into her Duel Disk. "Better make this count, Fabled Duelist. "

Xavier panted, sweat falling from his brow. He wasn't sure if he was sweating because of how nervous he was or because of how stuffy he felt in his outfit. I'm on my last leg, this is it, it's now or never.

Xavier leaned back and then launched his feet forward, somehow standing up without any assistance. He narrowed his eyes at the two dragons, ready to bring them down with one fell swoop...provided he got the right card. He knows it's there...he needs to draw it now.

"I draw!" Xavier yelled and took the card before looking at Akiza's field and smirking confidently. Let's hope this works. "And I play my most powerful Spell Card, Lightning Storm! " He said revealing the card in his hand before placing it in the slot in the Duel Disk.

Xavier played his Spell Card, showing a large bolt of lightning that could destroy an entire village. The audience gasped as they watched just what was about to come.

"This card can only be activated when I have no face-up cards on the field. When I don't, I can either destroy all monsters you control or all your Spell/Trap cards. So I choose to destroy your Dragons once more!" Xavier shouted.

Thunder roared as two bolts of lightning descended onto the two Synchro Dragons, smiting them. Akiza screamed in outrage as her two dragons were destroyed in front of her.

"You're going to pay for this, asshole!" she roared.

"Put it on my bill," Xavier replied, showing off another Spell Card. "Now all you have is one Trap Card, so now I'll play Monster Reborn to bring back Fabled Leviathan!"

With a wicked laugh, the tall red-haired and red armored King of the Fabled monsters rose onto the field, blood red wings outstretched. (3000 ATK)

"And since you have no more monsters on the field I can attack you directly. Go Leviathan!"

Fabled Leviathan fired another fiery sphere at Akiza, smiling at how the witch would burn. But as the fireball neared, he looked in alarm when he heard Akiza chuckle and bring her hand out.

"I activate my face-down card, Blazing Mirror Force!" Akiza yelled, activating the Trap Card of a large barrier of flames. "Now your monster gets destroyed and we both take damage equal to half of your monster's original attack points. This means that we both lose 1500 lifepoints, but I still have enough lifepoints to survive!"

"Oh...no…" Xavier whispered, realizing what that meant.

A blast of fire struck Fabled Leviathan, the demon screaming in agony before he also blew up in an explosion. Aki stood tall as her lifepoints fell, but when Xavier's lifepoints fell down to zero he fell to his knees, knowing that the duel was over.

Cheers and yells rang from the crowd, Divine smirking and being proud of another victory from Akiza.

**(Xavier: 0) - - - - - - - (Akiza: 3700)**

"What a duel folks! What surprises at every corner!" The MC shouted. "Xavier's Fabled monsters made us shiver in anticipation for what he had in store while the hot flames of Akiza's dragons really made this a breathtaking duel! Please give a hand to the two amazing opponents!"

As the audience applauded, Xavier took a good glance at his opponent staring at one of the cards in her hand. He scoffed as he dusted himself, knowing that Akiza was just relishing the victory. Nothing special there.

But Akiza wasn't. Instead, she stared at Black Rose Moonlight Dragon with sadness in her heart before placing it close to her chest. Glad that no one could see the tears in her eyes, Akiza walked backstage with a single thought in her mind.

Mom...

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

After getting some water and a sandwich to calm his stomach down, Xavier leaned against the wall backstage, hand on his forehead. Well okay, not a complete disaster, I'm gonna have a few bruises and scratches at best, not like I died or something. Xavier let out another breath as he lifted his sunglasses onto his head. Ugh, I'm honestly glad Akiza didn't burn or tear this outfit. I'd have no way to mend them!

Just then, Akiza walked past Xavier to the waiting room, but then stopped when she felt his hand on her shoulder.

"What is it that you want now?" Akiza answered. "For your information, I don't date my opponents."

"Just answer this question for me, Black Rose Witch." Xavier replied.

"What's that?"

Xavier lifted his glasses so his eyes stared into the eyes of the mask. He leaned in close as he whispered, "Did you have fun showing off your skills to the audience?"

Akiza didn't answer him, she didn't exactly know what to say or even think about it, she went ahead back into the waiting room, Xavier a few steps behind her.

The red headed girl sat on one of the waiting chairs, expecting no one to disturb her. The other opponents took a glance at her, knowing who she was and wanting nothing to do with her. Xavier just sat a further distance away, sipping on some coffee, but still keeping an eye out on the Black Rose Witch. Akiza still looked at her Black Rose Moonlight Dragon, feeling both sad and happy. No one knew she had this dragon at all. Every single time she dueled, it was always the Black Rose Dragon that emerged to show her power, to strike fear into the opponent's heart, to destroy everything on his field, even their most powerful monster.

She wasn't sure why she had played it today. These Fabled monsters weren't the worst thing she had faced, but Moonlight Dragon wanted to be shown today alongside Black Rose, and considering the way the duel went, it was a good thing she did even if Xavier managed to destroy them. If Xavier decided to use Raigeki Break on Ivy Shackles earlier, then Akiza would've had no way to protect herself from Fabled Leviathan's assault nor obtain Pot of Greed until much later.

Akiza was still looking at her card when something else grabbed her attention.

"Hi there."

Akiza looked up to see one of the new contestants, a girl named Rin was smiling at her without a hint of fear in her eyes, which to Akiza was pretty new especially after she had dueled and caused a lot of damage to the arena.

"H-hello," she greeted back, not sure how to respond much to the younger girl. She got a good look at this newcomer: the green haired girl wore a green tanktop that reached her midriff only, making her waist bare and black short shorts, along with black short boots, fingerless gloves and a bracelet with a green stone embedded in it. "Um...why are you here?"

"That was such an amazing duel!" Rin exclaimed. "You both were awesome, especially your dragons."

"Oh...uh, thanks... My dragons have always been there to help me achieve victory."

"Are they your friends?" Rin asked.

"What?" Akiza asked, looking at Rin who was still smiling at her. No one would think of their cards as their friends. At least, no one Akiza knew. Not even him...

"Are they your friends?" Rin repeated. "I have a best friend whose most powerful monster is a dragon. And Clear Wing gets pretty overprotective of him. Though I can understand why; Yugo can get pretty reckless most of the time." Rin then sat down beside the Black Rose Witch, all while Xavier raised an eyebrow and still kept an eye on the girls..

It was a few seconds before Akiza slowly removed her mask and took a better look at Rin, revealing her fierce magenta eyes and how her bangs was pulled back with some sort of grey cylinder.. Akiza's shoulders relaxed, and she gave a weak smile. "Yeah, they are my friends, they've alway been there for me and with me, even before the Arcadia movement found me."

Rin's smile widened. "I'm Rin," Rin said, extending her hand.

"Akiza Izayoi," Akiza answered, taking Rin's hand in hers. "I've seen you duel. You're a pretty strong psychic duelist."

"Psychic?" Rin asked, tilting her head.

"Yeah, they're duelists with different abilities associated with the mind like levitation and even mind reading. There are some who can manipulate the world around them using their cards."

"Like you," Rin surmised.

"Yes and you. You should join the Arcadia Movement. Divine will help you control your powers, and you won't be alone in your abilities," Akiza said looking away.

Rin tilted her head. "I'm…" Suddenly a bell rang, and Rin sighed. "Well, this is my duel next," she said, standing up. "So can I see you around?"

"Oh… why would you want to?"

Rin blinked at the question, but smiled. "I got the feeling you don't have too many friends, I wanna be yours."

"Why would you want to be friends with me? After all, I'm the Black Rose Witch," Akiza said with a frown as if that should end the conversation.

Rin chuckled and grabbed Akiza's hands before squeezing them gently. "Well, us witches should stick together right?" She said with a wink before turning around and waving at Akiza as she sprinted to the arena for her next duel.

Akiza watched her leave for a few more seconds before a feeling inside of her and a tingling in the back of her mind that she knew by that point were her dragons encouraging her to take action. Akiza watched Rin go before taking the remote and turning the monitor on, wanting to see Rin, this witch and the only person brave enough to approach her, and even ask her about her dragons like they were something precious to her, not just her cards to use in a duel. She felt a connection between them, and she was curious to know more.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

In their small apartment, Yugo sighed as he looked through his deck once more. He placed all the cards back together in a pile and shuffled them over and over, his mind as usual going back to his best friend, Rin. After a few more shuffles, he set the deck aside and grabbed Clear Wing from his Extra deck, rubbing the card gently as if it was a priceless heirloom (which, in his eyes, it was priceless as it had been with him since he could remember).

Rin has been acting strangely the past few days. Not very, but Yugo wasn't that oblivious to his surroundings. He noticed from time to time the little things about her. She seemed more distracted than ever - he had startled her by accident once and she'd look at him with cold eyes as if she's ready to murder him with a hidden dagger in her hand before she realized that it was him.

It worried him a bit. And not only that, for a few hours Rin seemed to disappear without a trace or so much as a note. The first time she did this she almost gave Yugo a heart attack. She came back and acted as if nothing was wrong, giving Yugo a smile and patting his cheek, and that seemed the end of it, in his defense the small touch kind of...short circuited his head for a bit.

...But the point still stood, something about her had changed, and Yugo couldn't really put his finger on it. It wasn't just the new clothes she wore, which in themselves made Yugo quite distracted - it took him a long time not to blush every time he looked at her with her black shorts and a deep green tube top exposing her midriff and her legs. She was still confident and self assured, she'd still face down a Sector Security officer and not back down. But...there seemed to be danger in her eyes now.

Not when she looks at him though, she's still sweet when she talks to him, smiling and listening to him ramble, still fixes and adjusts the D-wheel they're working on together. Still hugs him tightly and cares deeply for him. He even thinks she is getting a little more affectionate, holding his hand, patting his cheek, or running a hand through his hair, making Yugo blush and splutter, which causes her to giggle. It all made his heart flutter. Yugo wondered where she was right now.

He looked around the room and smiled as he looked at the books that Rin had borrowed from the library. Rin always liked witches and spellcasters, especially stories of them, she would barrow little short stories, grimoire, studied them and wrote her own notes, even tried to make her own spells. She said that magic was just amazing, it's power, potential, a world of new possibilities.

She also loved the idea of covens, he remembered Rin once telling him that one of the stories of witches who came about when women who were in distress or oppressed by others, especially men of power would ask for a guide and help, and in came a being with ultimate power, some would call him the devil, making deals with these witches and giving them power to fight back. The witches would form a coven, a sisterhood, one that would make their power grow stronger as they help one another gain revenge on those who mocked them, demean them.

He sighed, putting the book back where it used to be. A meow sounded from the door making his head turn and do a double take at the white as snow kitten with a bell around her neck. Yugo blinked.

"F-Freya?!"

"Meow~!" The kitten replied, walking towards Yugo and nuzzling his leg. Yugo had to do a double take. This...this was one of Rin's monsters, he was sure of it. Windwitch Familiar-Freya. How? Wh-what was happening? He couldn't wrap his mind around it.

Yugo knelt down, still confused as to how this kitten - a Duel Monster - appeared before him. "Well, okay, you are definitely Freya...but..what are you doing here? And why are you a ghost?"

"Meow~" The kitten sounded again running up to Yugo and patting his leg urgently.

"Is Rin okay? Are you trying to tell me something about Rin?"

"Meow!" The kitten said a third time and headed to the door now that she has Yugo's attention for sure.

"H-hey wait!" Yugo ran after the kitten spirit with Clear Wing roaring softly in his ear, also worried for Rin.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"Everybody listen!" MC yelled into the microphone. "It's time for the last duel in the semi-finals of the Strength Cup!"

The Crowd cheered more, voices rising and echoing all around the arena, chanting names and booing, they became a cacophony of unrecognizable chants.

"Now, we have a contestant that's quite a stranger, from the tops, he came here and defeated his opponent through unconventional means, is duelist known as Professor Frank!"

A lot of booing was heard from the stands as a man who looked in his early 30's walked into the field. He looked like his battlefield was at a university in his scholarly robes and soft looking features. He didn't seem worried about the people jeering at him.

"And a fresh face who proved herself to have viciousness as well as beauty, a new Ice Princess has now taken this tournament by storm! Please welcome the wondrous witch of wind, Rin!"

Rin walked into the field, cheers erupted as well as a few whistles from the crowd. Some still booed, but Rin stood confidently eyes narrowed at this so-called Professor Frank. She didn't like the calm smile on his face, it was as if he was hiding something from everyone, something deep and sinister. Hell, she wasn't even sure if he was even a real Professor in the first place.

Divine smirked from his place in the crowd, he was very intrigued to see how this duel was going to end. He had already talked with Professor Frank in order to get into Rin's mind and try to discover her secrets or try to nudge her into the Arcadia Movement. From the moment that she had walked into Divine's vision, he had sensed something special about her, a power, one that could be molded and used to his agenda, something unique even for his institute. Frank had of course readily agreed, very enthusiastic to experiment on the amber-eyed girl. He had promised that both of them would have the desired results.

"Ladies and gentlemen this will be an exciting duel to conclude the semi-finals!" The MC decreed. "For both duelists have a burn deck in their hands, a magnificent Mirror Match is on its way! So let's take a look to see where this takes us, and who will win this day!"

"Indeed, let us begin then," Frank said. He spoke in a soft tone with no emotions as if approaching a frightened animal, with a small fake smile that seemed to hide a lot of secrets.

Rin narrowed her eyes, having a bad feeling about the man, she almost took a step back and readied herself for a brawl but held her instinct. She wasn't going to let him stop her from winning. She had to, for her sake and for Yugo's, this was her ticket to the Friendship Cup after all.

"Ready! Set! Duel!" MC yelled and both players activated their Duel Disks.

**(Rin: 8000) - - - - - - - (Frank: 8000)**

"Now I draw," Frank said softly, drawing his first card quickly. He still gave that serene smile that just gave Rin the creeps. "First I play two Spell Cards, Dark Room of Nightmare and Wave of Ill Intent. Now every time a monster of mine is destroyed, Wave of Ill Intent inflicts 300 points of damage as well as an additional 300 from Dark Room of Nightmare."

Rin raised an eyebrow at the two cards. Dark Room of Nightmare she knew very well (as she used to play it in her deck before she obtained better cards). Wave of Ill Intent was different, showing a ghastly face with large crimson pupils staring at her. "So...you're expecting me to destroy a lot of monsters or something?"

"All in due time, my dear," Frank said, the smile of his not slipping away. Rin frowned. "Next, I play Symmetry Rorschach in defense mode."

Fluttering onto the field was what looked like some sort of smudge made of ink. (1200 DEF)

Rin squinted and tilted her head. "What...is that? What even is that thing?"

"It depends on what you think," Frank said with a pleasant tone. "It's a test given out to see what people make out of it that represents their mindsets. Look closely Rin...what do you see?"

Rin raised her eyebrow, placing her hand on her hip. "I don't know, it looks like a….two headed dragon I guess?"

"That's what she sees?" Xavier asked, confused as he clutched his phone in hand.

Frank smiled. "Hmm, that's quite interesting, don't you think?" Rin's head snapped to Frank as she frowned in confusion and suspicion.

"Oh yeah? How so?" Rin retorted back, raising her eyebrow.

"A girl like you who dances in the ice and snow sees a fearsome dragon instead of something like a snowflake. Dragons are of fire, a unique contrast to the winter cold of the Windwitches," Frank replied. "So what does a dragon represent for you Rin?"

Rin scoffed but looked at the monster again and squinted. This time an image, a memory that's not so much her own, flashed in her mind. There was an older boy, one that looks so much like her best friend with silver hair with bangs that have green highlights. The boy looked back at her with such adoration in his golden eyes.

"I like dragons," Rin snapped with a shrug. "Is there an unwritten rule that girls can't like dragons? I mean, Akiza has five lovely ones."

"Still, to see a fearsome two-headed dragon, when such creatures in fairy tales would take the sweet maiden to his lair-"

"Have you seen my witches?" Rin interrupted, with a scoff smirking. "They're not damsels in distress to be afraid of a dragon, they're chaotic and playful. Not to mention…" her smirk widened. "They're quite dangerous. Were you here at the previous duel? The guy Xavier had a point ya know: 'everything has a dual nature'. Witches. Dragons. Humans. Nothing is what it appears to be at first glance, and just because my girls are pretty, doesn't mean that they're weak."

(And backstage, Xavier didn't know whether or not to be flattered or insulted at how Rin brought up his philosophy.)

Frank chuckled softly, and Rin had the feeling that he was condescending to her. She wanted to punch him in his smug face. Well… her witches will take care of that soon enough.

"Quite fascinating. I'm learning so much about you little Rin," he praised.

"Tt," Rin made a sound of annoyance. The man was getting on her nerves.

"Finally, I place three cards face down, and end my turn."

"Is that all?" Rin laughed, seeing the cards on the field. "You keep dueling like that and you'll put me to sleep, I'll probably take you out in three turns with a start like that!"

Frank's smile didn't waver, he tilted his head and said, "We'll just have to see my dear, won't we?"

Rin groaned "I draw!" she said, drawing her first card and smirking as she placed the card in her hand and picked up another one. "Let's give the good Professor some frost burns, shall we?" She declared revealing a card in her hand.

"Since there are no monsters on her field I can Special Summon Windwitch Ice Bell from my hand!"

With a giggle, a witch in white garbs and cyan hair appeared on her broomstick. She waved her wand in the air, small snowflakes emerging from the tip of the wand. (1000 ATK.)

"When she's summoned to the field like this, she inflicts 500 points of damage to you, but I'll chain her second ability to that, so she can Special Summon a Windwitch from my deck."

Windwitch Ice Bell giggled and began casting another spell with her wand.

"Come on out! I Special Summons Windwitch Sleet Bell in attack mode!" Rin called

Ice Bell raised her hands up making a portal where another Windwitch descended with cold winds and snowflakes raining gently on her. She was a young woman with dark blue and white hair, a deep blue suit, and white silk fabric tied like a bow around her neck facing her right. A white frilly skirt and blue shoes, she also had a witches' hat with a bell dangling on the side, and a white and blue visor with a small wand in her hand that had a white bell at its base (1400 ATK, LV 4)

"Whoa, pretty!" Someone in the audience commented and others agreed.

"Such cute girls indeed," Frank commented. Sleet Bell and Ice Bell just flinched; that comment didn't sit well with either of them, their eyes narrowed at the man, guarded in their stance with a need to protect Rin.

"Cute yes, but not without tricks," said Rin. "If Sleet Bell is summoned, she inflicts 300 points of damage for every Windwitch on the field. And since there are two, that's 600 Life points down just from her!"

Sleet Bell extended her hand pointing her wand at Frank, both she and Ice Bell shone blue before a few shards of ice flew at Frank. The man had to cover his face to not have the small ice shards harm him much.

**(Rin: 8000) - - - - - - - (Frank: 7400)**

"Oh, and it's Ice Bell's turn for the damage now. Go ahead, sweetheart!" Rin said, motioning to a clearly out of patience Ice Bell to go ahead. The first Windwitch perked up and almost jumped off of her broom before extending her own wand and sending cold wind towards Frank, making the professor shiver.

Ice Bell giggled happily, the bell on her hat ringing.

**(Rin: 8000) - - - - - - - (Frank: 6900)**

"Well, that was an experience, well done," Frank said, applauding Ice Bell. Ice Bell immediately stopped laughing and frowned looking at Frank.

Rin watched her monster become very wary of the man, they're usually playful and never on edge like they were in that moment, so she better end this due quickly. Rin looked at Frank and smirked, "What, you think I'm done?"

Frank seemed to be choking on air, which pleased the amber-eyed duelist.

"Next I Normal Summons Windwitch Snowfall to the field, who if Normal Summoned, inflects an additional 500 Points of damage to you," Rin said with a smirk.

The next Windwitch to appear was a girl with white hair wearing a white suit with black linings and a black frilly skirt with a few white bows on them. Topping her head was a black witch's hat with a blue and white visor covering her eyes. (300 ATK, LV 2, Tuner.)

Snowfall grinned as she flew onto the field spinning in the air before she stopped and looked at Frank, she glared and extended her hand summoning her wand which had a light blue snowflake at its base, small snowflakes were sent flying to Frank, covering him in a light shower of snow.

**(Rin: 8000) - - - - - - - (Frank: 6400)**

"Oh and the little darling is a tuner~" Rin singsonged.

Frank frowned slightly but otherwise didn't look too alarmed.

…

…

...

"Wow!" Xavier blinked. "First turn with three monsters and 1600 burn points. Man, that's gotta be annoying."

"Not as annoying as your little tricks on me, you little brat!" A voice that smelled like raw garlic growled in his ear.

Xavier yelped and turned around to see a police officer with dark skin and a large belly, and wrists covered in thick chains. "Oh, Armstrong!" he stammered, seeing the former Chief of Security pick at his nose hairs. "Didn't think you were still around."

The man glared at Xavier and looked ready to grab his neck and choke him to death with his bare hands. "That little stunt you did with those Fabled monsters was a real hoot. You sure you didn't just shuffle the cards around while I wasn't looking?"

"How should I know? You took everything I owned and cared about and replaced it with a parking lot of your own selfish desires."

"Why you little-" Armstrong was about to smack Xavier over the head before a voice stopped him.

"Leave the kid alone!"

Armstrong turned to see a boy around Xavier's age, wearing a black and red leather ensemble and his black hair spiked up in the back.

"Oh Grady, wasn't it?" Armstrong humphed. "The same guy who cowered in fear when the Black Rose Witch burned him alive?"

"Wouldn't you ?" Grady retorted. "Your monsters weren't made to face someone like her. She would have gotten you out of the field faster than you could beg her to stop. The new kid destroyed her two dragons twice! And besides, it's your fault for using a mill deck against someone who thrives on constantly discarding and returning cards from the hand."

Armstrong grit his teeth, looming over Grady. "Think you're so smart, huh? Well let's see how that mouth of yours survives my -

"Oh break this up already! You're all being annoying," Akiza said glaring at the three of them, eyes hard and ready to murder, making even Armstrong freeze and back away. Her eyes returned to the duel with Rin on the monitor. Xavier then sighed in relief.

"Well, thanks for making sure neither of us got strangled to death," he said to Akiza.

"I didn't barge in to save your scrawny little ass," Akiza didn't look at him when saying that.

"Methinks you're terrified of the little mouse," Someone boasted and placed a hand on Xavier's shoulder. "After all, who else had the bravery and determination to slay the dragons not once, but twice?"

Xavier turned around and saw a man in golden armor and a beard the color of wheat. On his left arm was a Duel Disk as gold as the armor he wore. Oh, it's that Flame...no Infernoble Knight duelist.

Why am I being noticed by weirdos? Xavier thought to himself. Oh, that's right. Because you're also a weirdo. his inner thoughts supplied.

The knight bowed towards Xavier. "My name is Sir Gill Randsburg. Tis good to meet you, brave squire." The guy, Randsborg, then took a good look at the duel on the monitor. "Quite amusing that you used a cat, a friend to all witch kind, to slay the mighty dragons belonging to that of the evil Black Rose Witch."

"Oh bring that up, why don't you?!" Akiza shouted. Armstrong was torn between laughter and rage, as he too recalled how that little cat slew his Iron Chain Dragon.

Randsburg ignored this as he continued to look at Xavier. "And it seems we have two witches in this competition, don't we, he of fair eyes?"

Xavier choked on the coffee he was sipping at that point and made sure that his sunglasses were still over his eyes (which they were).

"But do not worry, the witch of ice would probably fall to my mighty blade before long! For you see I hail from an ancient bloodline of knights!" Randsburg prattled on. "And it is every witch's fate to fall in our noble quest to eradicate the lands from darkness and fill it with the shining light of goodness!"

"Um, my good sir, you do know that the Fabled monsters are LIGHT correct?" Xavier asked. "And that in one lore, because of their involvement in an already chaotic war, they are the reason the legendary Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier was unleashed and that she killed everyone in existence?"

The knight blinked and so did everyone else backstage. "Oh…"

"That explains...everything," Akiza mumbled.

Xavier narrowed his eyes and removed his sunglasses before he stared eye to eye at the foolish knight. "Listen and listen well, Randsburg. I have no time to be dealing with the likes of men in overgrown fantasies who see women as either witches that need to burn, princesses that need to be saved, or lost little lambs that need 'guidance'."

Grady snickered and Randsborg blinked, having no idea how to respond to that.

"And another thing, Armstrong," Xavier replied. "Maybe you should start thinking about how a lot of duelists these days can easily retrieve cards from the graveyard. Does the card 'Pot of Avarice' ring any bells? Cause that's how I retrieved a lot of my Fabled Tuners.

"Also just wanna give you a warning that your title as former Chief of Security means nothing now. You're a fat load of junk on the road to a total crash and burn and believe me when I say that I think everyone within a five foot radius of you would feel like that they're living in the pits ."

Armstrong choked on air but Xavier's attention was back on the duel. Randsborg also took a step away from the Fabled Duelist but Grady began speaking up.

"Living in the pits, huh?" he questioned.

"Well that's the truth," Xavier said, not looking at Grady and sipping his coffee.

"And you seem to have a thing for coffee."

"Doesn't everyone?"

"Nope," said Armstrong.

"Nay," Randsborg agreed with Armstrong.

"Hate the taste," Akiza answered.

"Well I'm too young to sip alcohol so this is my best choice," said Xavier.

"Yeah it's too bad that this coffee ain't like those Blue Eyes Mountain Coffees I heard so much about," Grady prodded.

"...Is nosing into someone's life your only source of joy, Dick Pitt ?" Xavier said through gritted teeth.

Grady blanched as Xavier crushed the paper cup in his hand and hurled it into the trash can behind his back. He then went back to watching the duel as the other men in the room just stared at one another.

"Such a...unique name for a fellow knight," Randsborg noted.

"Shut up," Grady mumbled.

…

…

...

"And no, that's not all, I use my Spell Card, Chime of the Windwich, which lets me target one Windwitch on the field and Special Summon another one with a different name from my deck, but I can only special summon Wind Monster til the end of the turn" Rin explained as she activated her spell card and where two silhouettes of Ice Bell and Glass Bell fly to the moon on their brooms.

"So next I special Summon Windwitch Glass Bell!" The green-haired monster flew into the field on her broom, smiling at her sisters. (1500, LV, Tuner)

"And since Glass Bell was summoned I get to take one Windwitch monster from my deck to my hand and I choose Windwitch Eclips Bell," Rin said, showing Frank the Windwitch Card in her hand.

"Now I tune my Level 2 Windwitch Snowfall Bell, with my Level 4 Windwitch Sleet Bell."

The two Windwitches giggled and flew into the sky, Snowfall turning into two rings and Sleet Bell turning into four stars. The three stars flew into the Synchro rings and a bright light filled the field.

**(2*+ 4* = 6*)**

"Winds howling through the icy lands lend me your powers, I call forth a storm to freeze those who stand in my way! Synchro Summon, Level 6, fly on in Windwitch Hail Bell!

From the rings, the Windwitch Synchro emerged. It was a young pretty girl that looked a little older than the previous witches with long white hair, the top of her head has two braids on either side of it that come together in the middle tied together with a blue bow, with a blue witch's hat, a white and blue visor, a light blue dress, with a slit on the right side. She had no shoes but had on a black choker necklace with a small bell on it and a long white staff. (2100 ATK)

Hail Bell floated above the ground while a small breeze and little icicles rained down softly on the field.

"Next I tune my level 4 Glass Bell and my level 3 Ice Bell!"

**(4* + 3* = 7*)**

"Winds of Winter, snow, and ice, become my power to destroy everything in my way, Synchro Summon Level 7! Windwitch Winter Bell!"

The mechanical looking monster rose from the light with the sound of wind hailing in the arena (2400 ATK)

" So let's get to the good stuff shall we?" Rin asked. "Once per turn I can inflict 300 damage to your life points for every Windwitch in the graveyard. That's another 1200 life points gone, _Professor,_ " she said with a smirk.

Hail Bell raised her hand wand creating 4 small shards of ice from her wand. She spun them around before aiming her staff at Frank and sending the shards at the Professor.

**(Rin: 8000) - - - - - - - (Frank: 5200)**

"I think Frank is gonna die of hypothermia at this point," Grady commented.

"Not to worry for my noble knights of flame should be able to fight off this malady!" Randsburg added.

"Next once per turn, Winter Bell can target one of my Windwitches in the graveyard and

Burn you for 200x their level, and since my highest level in the Graveyard at the moment is four then that's another 800 Life points."

**(Rin: 8000) - - - - - - - (Frank: 4400)**

"Ladies and gentleman! It seems that the Witch of Winter will not allow her opponent to go unscathed, she has burned almost half of Professor Frank's lifepoint in one turn! What powerful effects! Can Professor Frank survive this?"

"Next, Hail Bell attack his stupid roach or whatever!"

Hail Bell raised her staff in the air and several small icy orbs were created and thrown at Frank's monster as if this was a snowball fight.

"Because you destroyed my monster, the spell card Wave of ill intent causes you 300 Lifepoints," Frank said

**(Rin: 7700) - - - - - - - (Frank: 4400)**

"And thanks to Room of Nightmares you lose another 300," the man said with a porcine smile

**(Rin: 7400) - - - - - - - (Frank:4400)**

Rin couldn't help but laugh. "Is that all you got? That's just pathetic, and I certainly am not done. Go, Winter Bell, attack him directly!"

Winter Bell's mechanical wings stretched, the orb glowed and a stormy cold wind hit Frank full force, blowing him away a few steps back.

**(Rin: 7400) - - - - - - - (Frank: 2000)**

"I activate two of my face-down cards, Shock Draw and Miracle's Wake," said Frank. "With Shock Draw, I get to draw a card for every 1000 points of damage I took this turn," the calm smile never left his face at all. "And with Miracle's Wake, I can revive a monster that was destroyed in battle this turn. Thanks to your little tricks, I get four new cards and my Symmetry Rorschach back."

Professor Frank's other face-down cards flipped over, one revealing a duelist holding three cards struck by lightning and the other one was a beam of light peeking through storm clouds. The Professor drew four more cards and his monster returned, looking like a splat of ink. (1200 DEF)

"What an amazing twist!" MC said. "The Professor used the effects of Rin's monsters against her, giving him a new hand and another chance to turn this all around!"

"I place one card face down and end my turn," said Rin in a bored tone. "You better step up, _Professor_. "

Professor Frank slowly clapped his hands. "Excellent. I'm having quite fun in this duel. Seeing your passion and fury like ice in winter. A beautiful scene that could instantly kill you if you do not prepare yourself."

 _I really don't like this guy, something's up_ … Xavier thought to himself.

"Whatever, it's your turn," Rin said with a shrug.

"Indeed," said Frank, drawing his card. "Now then, Miss Rin. What do you see in Symmetry Rorschach now?"

Rin rolled her eyes at the inkblot monster still floating on the field. "The same thing," she answered coldly, crossing her arms.

"You see a twin-headed dragon, but there must be something else within that dragon correct?" Frank continued. "'Everything has a dual nature', and in some stories with dragons, they are revealed to be humans who can shift into a draconic form."

Rin seemed to flinch just a bit at that. "Am I supposed to see someone there or something? I thought you were a psychologist with all these cards, I didn't know you were a fairy tale expert. What's next? Are you gonna start about the _symbolism_ in old tales," The amber eyes girl mocked.

"Most fairy tales can tell you a lot about the psychology of humankind," Frank replied. "The stuff children are fed these days are covered in too much sugar and innocence. Take Sleeping Beauty for example." Rin almost groaned as Frank continued on.

"The prince was quite enamored at having a cataleptic princess as a bride. And in Snow White, the queen was forced to dance in heels covered in hot coals until she dropped dead. As for Cinderella, well her step-sisters did not go off easy. One lost her heel, one lost her toe in trying to fit into the glass slipper and both of them went blind when Cinderella's bird friends came to enact revenge."

"Your point?" Rin retorted with a tired and annoyed tone.

"Everything has a dual nature, in mind, body and soul. We may think we're good and pure, but if given such a small push, then our true natures are revealed."

Rin frowned harder, looked at the monster again reluctantly.

 _"Rin…"_ Yugo's voice echoed gently in Rin's mind.

_"Ray…"_

Rin bit her lips, her breathing slowing down, her shoulders relaxed, she became a little less guarded, everything started to drown out, and time seemed to slow down. The audience, the MC, all except Frank's voice and the other voices in her mind.

 _"Hey Sunshine,"_ she remembered that voice, happy and cheerful.

 _"Would you stay with me? Even after this?"_ He had asked her.

"See?" Frank continued. "Just a little more...just a bit more. What do you see Rin? Can you see it? Can you picture it? Is it vivid in your mind, so real that you could just reach out and touch it?"

"Zarc…" Rin whispered, a soft smile on her face.

"Something's up, I don't like this," Xavier said, frowning as he looked at Rin. "Something's wrong. I can see it in her eyes. In that smile..."

"Aye," Randsborg said. "That scholar has made the witch fall under a dark spell. Scholars are not supposed to divulge in dark arts for that makes them no better than the witches they are to fight against."

"How is he doing that?"

At this point, Armstrong spoke up. "Well, some folks say that this kook believes in something in regards to Duel Monsters living in some 'realm beyond our existence'."

Xavier raised an eyebrow. "Wow, didn't know ogres like you listened to such drivel."

"Do you wanna know what's wrong with the girl or not?" Armstrong snapped.

"Yeah, I do. I mean we all do, don't we?"

Armstrong snorted, blowing his nose hairs onto a napkin before crushing it in his hand. "See, back when I was Chief at the Facility, I heard about this guy. Aside from his belief in Duel Spirits or whatever, people said he could hypnotize his opponents while he duels them, gets inside their heads and nudges them into actions they wouldn't have done on their own. Of course no one could actually prove he was doing such a thing, and considering the type of place we're dueling in, no one is ever gonna know."

"My word!" Randsborg gasped.

"Um, how old is this girl again?" Grady questioned.

"She looks fourteen," Akiza said, squeezing her arm. There was a buzz inside her mind that she couldn't quite understand. Even her dragons were on edge.

Xavier clicked his teeth. "So Armstrong, did you hear anything about how to snap out of this daydream phase?"

"Unless the little girl has some wicked will power, she doesn't have much of a chance in that matter," Armstrong replied, tone somber. "There's just one thing that's bugging me."

"Oh?" asked Xavier.

"What's so interesting about her that this Professor wants to probe her mind?"

Xavier blinked; for someone like him, Armstrong made a really good point, the girl did show some modicum of psychic powers from what she saw in her previous duel but there were other duelists like her, couldn't Frank have asked a volunteer from the Archadia Movement? Then he lifted his head, getting an idea.

"Wait...Akiza, you said she's a psychic duelist, right? That she has powers too? Could that be the reason?" Xavier asked, turning to Akiza. "The girl, Rin, didn't know what that was, and based on the small conversation you had, she might believe in duel spirits too."

"You know, for someone who doesn't like people nosing in on their lives, you seem to have a habit of doing that yourself," Akiza pointed out. "In fact, I've never heard anyone named Xavier Maxa who used a Fabled deck before…"

"Hey, I'm new. And besides, you two weren't exactly quiet; I just happened to be there when you talked," Xavier said nonchalantly. "But that's not the point. Do you think that that's the reason Frank is probing the girl?"

"But what would he have to gain from tampering with the minds of an innocent maiden?" Randsburg questioned.

"I agree with the knight," Grady said. "Psychic stuff is associated only with the Arcadia Movement."

Akia sighed. "I don't know, that just seemed like the only special thing about her."

"'Seemed'," Xavier said with air-quotes. "I mean, has anyone else actually heard rumors about this girl? Did she show any signs of this power prior to this tournament?"

"Psychic powers don't manifest from birth, mine didn't," Akiza explained, wincing as she recalled the day that those powers of hers came to be. "She could be new to them, she didn't even know that she was one before she talked to me."

"How about we just wait and see for ourselves?" Armstrong said. "But judging by the look of things, I think we're gonna be getting more questions than answers."

…

…

…

Divine's smirk became sharper. Yes this is exactly what he wanted Frank to do, get inside Rin's head, expose her secrets, see where her powers come from, and subtly guide her into the arms of the Arcadia Movement. Things were proceeding just as planned. How perfect. Soon, the girl would be under his clutches, and the power of his movement will grow stronger.

"Oh, a name?" Frank prodded further. "Who is this...Zarc?"

"..."

"Well, I'll figure that out soon enough. Now, I sacrifice Symmetry Rorschach for Ido the Supreme Magical Force!"

The monster looked like a large tiger made of golden energy. It snarled at the Windwitches, ready to slice them into ribbons. (2200 ATK)

"I'm not done yet," Frank said. "To make sure you can't escape, I equip Immortal Homeostasis onto Hail Bell!"

He played a Spell Card, depicting the Spellcaster Maha Vailo covered in black aura and two red orbs on either side of her. Two red orbs surrounded Hail Bell making her look at them in confusion.

Frank snickered. "You're probably thinking that you'll lose just 100 life points from this...if you could even think at all. But instead, I activate Gestalt Trap and also equip it onto Hail Bell to drop her attack to 0!"

Frank's other card was revealed, showing off a large hinge trap. Then, said trap stretched out of the card and clamped itself around Hail Bell's waist, making the monster drop her wand. (2100 -) 0 ATK)

"Would you look at that!" MC shouted. "Rin's monster is as vulnerable as a kitten stuck in the rain. There's nowhere for her to hide."

"Next, a small little spell, I'm sure all of us are familiar with, I activate Hinotama, and you lose 500 Life Points," Frank said. Several meteors fell down on Rin, making a few flaming rocks hit her. Her eyes began to lose focus, her legs began to stagger, her breathing became shaky.

**(Rin: 6900) - - - - - - - (Frank: 2000)**

"Now Ido! Attack Windwitch Hail Bell!" Frank ordered, and the monster roared before flying towards Hail Bell, who couldn't even raise her arms to defend herself.

"I...I activate…" Rin struggled to speak but she was eventually able to force out, "I activate my Trap Card, Soft Breeze. If a monster attacks one of my windwitches its attack points get cut in half for the rest of this turn," Rin grunted.

The Trap Card activated showing Windwitch Sleet Bell and another windwitch with dark grey hair standing side by side looking beaten up and disheveled ready to protect the other smaller looking witches who looked frightened, and were huddling one another.

Ido launched its attack against Hail Bell, digging its claws into her. The attack wasn't as strong, but it still left a mark. (2200 -) 1100 ATK)

Rin flinched, her body felt heavy, her mind couldn't focus well on the duel anymore. The arena was spinning in her mind as she began to pant heavily.

**(Rin: 5800) - - - - - - - (Frank: 2000)**

"Ah well, I still did put a chink in your life points," Frank replied. "Just as I am slowly opening your mind. Let's continue with that tangent of this 'Zarc' person shall we?...or is it a person? No, let me guess...he's a dragon, isn't he? A mighty dragon. Isn't he, Rin? Come now, you can tell me. You can trust me, I promise. Tell me, who is he?"

"...King...Dragon King," Rin grunted out, clenching her hand and closing her eyes shut. It was so hard to breathe.

"Dragon King! Oh my, yes. It's power and majesty, isn't that just what you want Rin? You do want to be the champion here and in the Friendship cup, become Queen. Isn't that right Rin?"

Rin nodded her head as if someone above her wrapped strings around her body and slightly nudged the string tied to her head to bob her head up and down.

"I wonder, is this 'Zarc' a friend? Is he your other self? The Darkness within?" Frank pondered. "Is he the true subconscious reason you do this? Dragons symbolize power after all don't they? Greed, gold? And a dragon with two heads, oh yes the dual nature of him, of you. On one hand, dragons can be seen as wise and noble creatures. On the other hand, they are forces of nature, angry at everyone who tries to steal their treasures and will burn them to the ground where they stand."

"..."

"Come on, Rin. Open your eyes. It's rude to not stare at your opponent face-to-face, is it not?"

Rin opened her eyes with a struggle. Everything was becoming a blur. All except for that voice...that calm soothing voice… a tear fell down her face.

"Y...Yugo..." Rin whispered like a prayer.

"Oh another name, how exciting!" Frank cheered. "Is this Yugo a dragon too? For someone whose monsters are witches, you seem to prefer dragons, my dear. They certainly both symbolize power - chaos for your witches and destruction for the dragons."

"But you don't want to be chaotic do you? No, you want to be controlled. You want someone to help harness that power, make it so that you are able to make it bend to your will, make you stronger, better."

"I…" Rin's arm fell to her side, looking down.

"That's right. I heard of you; fighting off against Sector Security, a small street girl who does her best to protect herself, to get by like all the commons. You came here all alone, a pretty little thing like you."

"..."

Frank chuckled. "I place a card face down and I shall end my turn, here," Frank said with a nod of his head. "You're up."

"I...draw…" said Rin, drawing a card. There was a pause as people waited for her to make her move. After five tense seconds, when even the MC was starting to wonder what to say, Frank spoke up.

"Oh I forgot to mention this," he said with that smile on his face. "If the monster equipped to Immortal Homeostasis has their attack different from their base attack, then you lose 300 lifepoints per turn. And then that's another 300 lifepoints gone from Dark Room of Nightmare too."

Again, a black wind struck Rin as Dark Room of Nightmare inflicted more damage to her lifepoints. Rin didn't react to this, her eyes were open, glazed over, looking at her Duel Disk blankly.

**(Rin: 5200) - - - - - - - (Frank: 2000)**

"Oh no, this is not good, it's completely disgusting !" Xavier exclaimed, terrified at the state that Rin was in.

"Look at this folks! It seems the Winter Witch has turned into a meek maiden!" MC shouted. "What is going on?!" he asked, wanting an explanation.

"I… I activate…" Rin started, her voice sounded muted even to her own ears, she felt as if she was drowning as if something kept pushing her down.

"I activate Fiendish Chain!" Frank said. "I can target one effect monster on the field and negate their effect, also they can't attack or change their position! And I target Windwitch Winter Bell of course!"

From the trap card, several chain links sprouted out and wrapped around Winter Bell, making her let out a painful noise as she was held in place.

Rin held her head, there was something that she was supposed to do, something about her cards, she forgot, she couldn't remember what it was, it was so hard to think, so hard to fight, everything felt so heavy, every sound except Franks was so muted.

"No, no this isn't good!" Xavier yelled.

"She can't attack anymore, burn or destroy that monster, she's a sitting duck unless she synchro Summons again," Armstrong noted, eyes narrowing. He himself had no love for the Commons, but Frank was going too far; taking advantage of a kid like that made him want to stomp that guy's face in. "She doesn't seem in the right mind to do it though."

"Black Rose Witch!" Randsborg said to Akiza. "Dost thou have the abilities to free this maiden from the evil spell?"

"I…" Akiza stammered, her body trembling, shocked at these people looking at her for help. The roaring from her dragons was clear. They, like everyone else in the room, didn't like this man and his actions in the slightest. "I can't but...there is...there is someone who can, but I don't know where or who they are though," Akiza said cryptically. She looked worried as well. Professor Frank's actions were freaking her out.

"Oh, that's right. Divine, head of the Arcadia Movement," Xavier said aloud, remembering how he saw that man in the audience. "Is he really that altruistic as he claims he is? If Rin really was Psychic, he would've sensed what this Professor was doing and stopped it right about now."

"I don't think he can even, if he wanted to," Akiza said in shame. "He can't stop the duel, and he doesn't have any way to snap Rin out of a trance."

"Do we really want some shady Psychic on our side?" asked Armstrong. Then he realized who was in the room and added, "Present company excluded."

"Um, don't guys like you have the powers to use the effects of cards to their liking?" asked Grady. "Isn't there a card to remove mind control or something? Right, Remove Brainwashing."

"No. Where'd you even get that idea from?" Akiza questioned, actually confused.

Grady shrugged. "It's just a suggestion."

"Well somebody better come up with more before that guy makes that girl into a doll," Armstrong grunted, crushing the paper cup in his hand. "If no one has any suggestions in the next five seconds, I'm going in there myself."

"On whose authority?" asked Xavier. "One you're not part of Security anymore. Two, you're gonna get the tournament canceled. Three, you know how long it will take for Security to arrive to arrest Frank and that's only if the guy doesn't escape during the commotion. Also, we practically have nothing to accuse him of. Who's even gonna believe that he's hypnotizing her?

"I don't see you actually capable of kicking ass in a fight, kid!" Armstrong snapped, showing off his chains.

"Um," Randsborg brought up. "Methinks you might want to observe this…"

…

…

...

"I do not mean to make it this painful Rin, just give in, and everything would be so easy, everything would be okay, just let yourself drown," Frank sighed. "But it's alright, let us focus back on your beloved Dragon, shall we? Yes...dive deeper, Rin. Let me into you, into your mind," Frank's smirk became sharper and more dangerous.

"That's the creepiest shit I've ever heard!" Xavier yelled at the monitor.

"What the maiden has now is an empty mind, ready to be molded with dark desires," Randsborg shivered. "He of fair eyes, dost thou have any ideas on how to stop this calamity?"

"I could call Security but nooooo they're not allowed to interfere, are they?" Xavier questioned, phone in his hand.

"Hey blame that creep Roget; he's the one that came up with this thing!" Armstrong snapped. "If it were up to me, I'd have come over there and arrested that psycho right about now."

"Her field is open, she has a monster with 0 Attack points and she hasn't even thought of turning it into defense mode at all!" said Grady.

"I end my turn," Rin breathed out.

"I don't think she can even think at all!" Xavier noted with a hint of fear in his voice.

"She's gonna lose this…" Akiza whispered, afraid for Rin, the first person to ever call her a...friend, to want to actually get to know her and spend time with her, without fear.

…

…

...

"My turn then," Frank said, relishing in his game as he drew his card.

"Now, I summon my monster Ego the mortal lord! Let us bring your subconscious into the forefront shall we?"

The monster was more solid than Ido the Supreme Magical Force. It was smaller but looked like a vicious black monster, with huge claws and a big mouth filled with fangs that looked like they can tear Rin apart. (1000) "Now once per turn for each monster I control you lose 300 life points, and that's 600 isn't it?"

**(Rin: 4600) - - - - - - - (Frank: 2000)**

"And once more Room of Nightmare takes another 300 Life Points from you

**(Rin: 4300) - - - - - - - (Frank: 2000)**

"Now Ido, attack Hail Bell." Ido attacked the defenseless Windwitch clawing at her middle, making her scream

Ghostly claws pierced through Rin as well but she didn't react at all, she stood there like a discarded puppet.

**(Rin: 2100) - - - - - - - (Frank: 2000)**

"And now Ego attacks Hail Bell once more!" Frank said delightedly as his monster attacked the weakened monster again

**(Rin: 1100) - - - - - - - (Frank: 2000)**

"I shall end my turn here. Your move, Rin, unless of course, you'd like to give up," Frank whispered, his lips taking on a sharper insane smile.

Rin felt dizzy, everything around her was shaking. Her mind and arm felt heavy, it took everything in her to stand up straight. She was in this dark void and it felt, it felt so cold, something that she had never felt before

"That's it Rin, I am inside your mind now, " Frank walked the dark corridors of Rin's mind. "Let us see your desires, the secret self that no one knows about. Remember what you said to me? 'Everything has a dual nature'."

At this, Xavier snapped.

"FUCK YOU ASSHOLE FOR TAKING MY PHILOSOPHY AND TWISTING IT TO YOUR OWN DESIRES!" He shouted. He then searched his deck and then showed a card to Akiza. "See this?"

Akiza took a simple glance at the card and looked ready to set it on fire with her gaze. "Again, with rubbing it in my face about that - "

"Summon it to scratch that bastard's eyes off right the fuck now or so help me !" Xavier screamed.

"Hey hey hey!" said Grady, grabbing onto Xavier's shoulders. "Let's not do something we're gonna regret!"

"Oh, we're not the ones who're gonna regret this!" Xavier snarled.

"If only I were more skilled in spells I could free Rin from this malady," Randsborg sighed. "Although…"

"Although what, Knight of Zandar?" Xavier asked.

"That name Frank mentioned, 'Zarc'," Randsborg stroked his beard in thought. "Methinks that I have heard that name before…."

"Do you know Zarc?" Akiza asked.

"Tis very vaguely familiar to me," Randsborg replied. "My family has passed down tales of not only witches but dragons over the generations after all."

"Wait, you're really a knight?" Grady said, eyes wide. "I always thought you just wore that for show and took the knight role way too seriously."

"Yes. Many think of me as such, but I truly am from an ancient family of knights. In fact, I have just received word from my cousin Ivan having formed what is known as 'The Knights of Amber Beach'."

"You sure that's not the name of some kind of LARP campaign?" Xavier replied.

"The Knights of Amber Beach are a fine group of warriors dedicated to protecting their city from horrible nightmares!" Randsburg screamed. "If you saw them with your own eyes I think you'd fit right in, he of fair eyes!"

"Yeah if you can find a suit of armor to cover all of this," Xavier said, motioning to his chest.

"Cover all of what?"

"...Never mind!" Xavier said, face turning crimson and Grady had to do his best not to laugh.

"Well, look at what we turned into," Armstrong said. "A little ol' Breakfast Club: a witch, a knight, a sunglasses-wearing dork who gets into risky business, a level head, and a former cop."

"An unlikely camaraderie to say the least," Randsborg agreed. "But I shall relish in it. This is the stuff that legends are based off of!"

"Leave me out of this," said Akiza with a huff. "I have my own things to worry about."

"So you don't care that Rin is gonna become lobotomized any second now?" Grady asked."Ugh, where's a bucket of water or a loud noise when you need it?"

"Louder than the audience?" asked Xavier. "They're all showing off their concern for Rin but it's not waking her up."

"Maybe it has to be something personal," Armstrong said, stroking his chin. "Oh right, that boyfriend of hers! I hadn't seen any sign of his banana bangs this entire time! He's always attached to her like two criminals handcuffed together."

"Boyfriend?" Xavier asked, not sure what to make of Armstrong's choice of words. "Wait, you know her?"

"I've never personally dueled her face-to-face, but I've heard how she faced off a lot of the more naive or proud Security officers and how she kicks them straight in the nuts," Armstrong replied. "They think that kid is bad with his loud voice and his monsters? Ha! They're all wrong. Everyone who hears a Security officer got beaten by that girl decides to go challenge her. And they all learn the same thing: the one they gotta worry about between those two lovebirds isn't the boy, but - "

"RIN!"

To everyone's surprise, from those in the audience, the MC, Divine, and everyone backstage, a boy was shouting that name as loud as he could as he rushed into the arena, nearly tripping down the steps as he continued shouting.

Rin's heart skipped a beat, and her head turned to the yelling boy, her emotionless face was sparked with a hint of life as her eyes widened, recognizing the voice.

Divine's attention also went to that voice as Frank was still focusing on keeping Rin unaware of her surroundings. The cameras followed the direction Rin was looking at and focused on a boy with blue hair and golden bangs in a white Riding suit.

"Rin? Rin! What's wrong with you? Snap out of it!" The boy shouted, not caring for the audience asking him to step back or how the MC was unsure what to think of him, he was creating chaos.

"Did...did we find him?" Grady asked.

"Is this the knight in shining armor off to save his winter maiden from the depths of this evil sorcerer?" asked Randsburg.

"Ah, that's him! Her boyfriend!" Armstrong shouted. "Yugo! He's a Speedroid duelist with a one-of-a-kind Synchro Dragon that many folks in Security have been itching to have for their own."

"Did you say dragon?" Randsburg asked.

"Yeah. Silver, black stripes on the tail, blue wings. Vicious as all hell. He called it 'Clear Wing Synchro Dragon'. It can negate the effects of a Level 5 or higher, or monsters whose effects target other monsters, destroy it and gain its attack points...let me guess, one of those legends of yours?"

"Nay, it is not, it's simply a great coincidence that the boy has a dragon, " Randsborg answered.

"Do not listen to that voice, be content, be controlled Rin," said Frank, gritting his teeth. How did this boy make it here? And why is he having such an effect on her? Unless… "Oh let me guess, is this that boy you said his name, I guess I was mistaken, he wasn't a dragon, Yugo correct?"

Rin nodded, still looking at Yugo, not taking her eyes off of him. Something was happening, a cord was tightening, and at any moment now, it was going to snap.

Yugo looked worried as he looked into Rin's empty eyes. He was terrified, hated them like that, he'd prefer her angry look, hell he'll take her murder look any time. These eyes, these eyes were _wrong_!

"Now, now," Frank said, finally reaching a door in Rin's mind, he turned the handle to open it. "Ignore this boy my dear, and let me see your secrets." Light shined from the door as Frank prided open, the man smirked and entered it.

…

…

...

He was in a strange throne room, with white marble floors and ceiling, surrounded by four monsters he'd never seen before. All of them were beautiful yet savage in their own way. All of them looked at him with great hatred, glaring. But he wasn't worried. He had been to various minds and seen Duel Monsters closest to the duelist's heart as a protector, but they were powerless. These ladies were not so different.

In the middle of the room there was an erected throne with images of winged serpents on the back, and on it sat a young woman who seemed to be eighteen years old in a black and green dress, she had a dual colored hair of red and maroon, her eyes were closed as if asleep. She looked…well, she looked very much like an older Rin.

Frank smiled from ear to ear. This was quite interesting indeed.

"Hello," he began, but the woman didn't respond.

Frank smirked at his luck. The woman seemed to be asleep, or in a trance of her own, and these monsters around him while angry, didn't seem like they were going to attack him. They were hissing and growling, yes, but not once did they lunge towards his throat. Frank took one more step, and he heard a voice.

**_"Ray!"_ **

_Frank looked around and still saw nothing, yet the voice continued, getting louder. The throne room began to tremble, Frank almost lost his balance as the entire room shock with the voice._

**_"Wake up, Ray. my darling Queen, you have a pest you need to destroy."_ **

_Ray's eyes suddenly snapped open, glaring daggers at Frank. It made the man freeze in fear as if the air itself was taken from the room. Golden eyes on a shadowy figure opened. it stood by the woman's side, looked at him with anger and amusement, his golden eyes had slitted pupils like a serpent, his tail wrapping itself around the woman's waist._

**_"Such a pathetic creature, daring to trick a queen. You should never fall into such pathetic traps."_ ** _The Shadow said, its slitted eyes narrowing at Frank as if ready to lounge at him._

_Rage filled Ray's heart as she regained her consciousness , she looked at Frank with horror and disdain, and great rage "You're right my love, I'm sorry for my weakness" she answered, rising from the throne, " And they never will again." Her glare penetrated into Frank's soul, her eyes narrowing in anger. The monsters by the throne hissed with glee as She raised her hand and Frank was tossed back outside of Rin's mind._

…

…

…

"Rin!" Yugo shouted. "I don't know what's wrong, but I know you're not yourself right now. Listen to me! Snap out of it! Get angry! Do something!"

"Y-yugo…"

"What are you doing listening to that bullshit, Rin? You don't like being controlled, you hate it! You want your freedom, you've always had. You're a witch Rin, not a damsel in distress, not a princess to be locked somewhere, you always hated that narrative! You blow away anyone who blocks your path. So do that now! Wake up Rin! WAKE THE HELL UP!"

Rin gasped sharply as if a bolt of electricity went through her entire body, eyes shrinking as she snapped out of her trance. "Yugo!"

"Rin! You're back!" Yugo said jumping up and down from happiness and relief. "You're back, are you okay?!"

Rin exhaled, looking with wide eyes at Yugo standing there, her heart leaping in her chest, and a strong euphoric feeling filled her releasing her from the numbness that she was drowning in.

"Yeah...Yeah, I am now," she replied with a nod.

"Good! Then come on! It's time to win this duel Rin!"

Rin nodded with a small smile before turning back to Frank and something in her snapped, she could feel power rising inside of her, feeding unto her rage and disgust.

Frank suddenly opened his eyes, panting, hand on his chest, only to be met with amber eyes filled with anger and hatred, a perfect reflection of t _hat girl's_ eyes.

" _You piece of SHIT! You piece of absolute fucking shit !_ " Rin yelled at Frank and he winced, taking a step back. "How dare you try to do this to me?" Rin growled looking like she was ready to tear Frank apart with her bare hands.

Rin drew a card. "I'M GONNA TEAR YOUR FUCKING SOUL TO SHREDS!"

Suddenly, the arena went colder than before, as freezing cold winds blew around the arena and around Rin, a line of small silver scales ran down Rin's waist, over her hip. Under her feet, ice began to cover the floor and spikes of ice began to emerge, as the audience watched, transfixed with the turn of events. This was much different from Rin's previous duel. This wasn't just Rin wanting to fight and win.

This is Rin wanting to murder someone.

"Pick a god and pray asshole! But I guarantee they're not gonna be listening to your fucking screams," Rin growled.

...

…

…

There was a moment of horror filled silence backstage before it was cut!

"I take it back, Akiza!" said Xavier, grabbing onto Akiza's arm. "Summon Leviathan instead!"

"Calm down!" said Akiza, pushing Xavier off her. "For one thing, we're all backstage."

"And the other thing?" Grady asked

Akiza narrowed her eyes. "Rin's anger is only focused on him. She won't hurt us."

"Are we absolutely sure about that?" Xavier questioned with a small voice.

"You think I'm lying, don't you?" Akiza accused the two of them, narrowing her eyes in suspicion at the pair.

"No, just that…man the whiplash," Xavier said with a sigh, giving up his argument.

"Wow she snapped out of it really quickly when that kid came in, even the audience's loud screams couldn't do that," Grady said.

"The two of them must have a great connection," Randsborg reasoned. "After all, it is the bonds of love that always breaks the curse."

"Well girly ain't too happy I see," Armstrong said. "She's pissed, and from the look in her eyes, she has no mercy left in her soul for that bastard. Don't blame her for that."

"Man I never thought I'd be this scared by a look from a 14-year-old." Xavier commented.

…

…

…

"This has become quite a chilling duel!" The MC said, shivering. "I wish I had brought a coat with me!"

"Go Rin! Show him what for!" Yugo cheered with a laugh. He wasn't exactly sure what had happened before he got there, but he was glad that Rin was back to normal.

"Well," said Frank, doing his best to maintain his calm composure. "Remember that since Hail Bell's attack is not the same as its original attack, Immortal Homeostasis's effect activates! So that's 300 more life points gone, along with Room of Nightmare's effect!"

Another dark wave crashed upon Rin. This time, the amber-eyed duelist didn't yelp in pain or flinch. Instead, she stood there glaring at Frank with cold eyes filled with desdain.

**(Rin: 500) - - - - - - - (Frank: 2000)**

"I activate Snow Bell's effect Since I have two Wind monster on the field I can special summon her from my hand," Rin said calmly, showing Snow Bell in her hand, and placing it on the field.

"I...I activate Solemn Judgment!" Frank shouted. "Now I pay half of my lifepoints to negate the effect and destroy your castle!"

Frank flipped his face-down card over, a Counter Trap of a man with white hair and a beard flanked by two younger women. The Field Spell shimmered and rippled before ultimately fading away.

**(Rin: 500) - - - - - - - (Frank: 1000)**

"Now what would you do?" Frank taunted, sweat falling down his forehead. "Talking such a big game like that huh!"

Rin sharply displayed her fangs as she took another card in hand.

"I hardly needed that card, I simply wanted to make sure that whatever you had won't mess up my plan. And with that wasted card out of the way, I call to the field Windwitch - Glass Bell!"

A new witch descended onto the field, immediately glaring daggers at Frank, ready to begin his muder. She looked kinda like Rin if she decided to dress up as a witch, riding on a large bell with a white handle, the bell itself covered in jewels. (1500 ATK) Glass Bell flew to the field and flew beside the other two monsters glaring at Frank.

"Now since Glass Bell was summoned I get to take one Windwitch from my deck and add it to my hand, and I choose Windwitch Snow Bell," she said, showing the card. "And as I told you before, since I have two or more Wind monsters on the field I can Special Summon Windwitch - Snow Bell from my hand."

"B-but, you already tried Summoning that monster-" Frank tried to say,

"Oh, I'm sorry, did the asshole think that Snow Bell's effect was once per turn?" Rin mocked cruelly.

A small purple and white bell appeared on the field, jingling slightly. (100 DEF)

"Two Tuners on the field, but I only need one. So I tune Windwitch Snow Bell and Windwitch Winter Bell together!"

Snow Bell rang softly before flying up, turning into a green circle, Winter Bell followed her soon after

"Cold winds of the starless night wailing through the icy grounds, decenet your shards of frost to cut your enemies! Synchro Summon! Level 8! Arrive with the storm Windwitch Neve Bell!"

The Synchro monster that appeared in a portal marked with snowflake sigils looked older than the two previous girls, she had long straight red hair, a white bodice with a white sash-like sleeve that goes over her shoulder, decorated with small roses that trail all over it, her midriff was exposed, a white skirt with deep blue edges a witch's hat decorated with deep blue gemstones and a choker with a bell around her neck with a veil that trailed down her back. (2800 ATK)

"I remember her!" Randsborg shouted. "But she's fighting the evil sorcerer now so that makes her a good witch in my book!"

Divine was livid, not only was Rin outside of Frank's hypnosis, but she has come back and with a very powerful and dangerous monster. He was pretty sure Frank failed to implant any thoughts or ideas into Rin's mind, and she looked close to murdering him.

Frank looked in horror at the monster floating in front of him, her beauty accentuated her anger and disgust, her blue lips here set, her eyes glaring at him with loathing through her visor.

"I activate Neve Bell's effect, I send the top three cards in my deck to the graveyard and I get to destroy as many cards on the field as there are Windwitches on it. And I count three! So say goodbye to your Wave of Ill Intent, and your two monsters !" Rin shouted.

Neve Bell placed two fingers on her lips and blew a snowflake at the cards on Frank's field, destroying them one by one.

"She did it!" Grady gasped. "Ido can't come back if it was destroyed by a card effect!"

"And in the order, she destroyed these cards she won't get a single point of damage!" Xavier said.

"HUZZAH!" Randsburg shouted, sword in the air. "The noble witch of winter has saved the day thanks to the power of love from her noble knight of the pure and holy light!"

"Is this a duel or a children's television show?" Armstrong muttered.

"This is your end!" Rin yelled. "Neve Bell...attack that bastard directly with Shreding Frost!"

Neve Bell looked as livid as Rin as she stared down Frank before extending her hand, and sharp shards of Ice along with some snow was hailed at Frank mercilessly.

**(Rin: 500) - - - - - - - (Frank: 0)**

Frank yelled as he was flung back outside the arena, covered in ice as the audience looked in shock, unsure of what they were seeing.

Rin's bracelet glowed softly, her nails and fingers getting covered in a sheen of ice, her hand balled into a fist before aiming a hit at Frank's face before aiming another one to his stomach, making him stumble backward and pass out with some blood dripping from his mouth.

"Uh...is he...dead?" Someone in the audience asked.

Even with the violent outburst from the teenage girl the stadium cheered. "And with that, the semi-finals are over! In a few days, the Black Rose Witch and the Winter Witch are going to head into battle! It'll be a showcase of deadly roses and harsh snow that will make a terrifying yet dazzling display! You don't wanna miss this folks!"

Rin stayed there for a few seconds glaring at Frank's unconscious body, the ice covering her fingers becoming sharper. She watched as some guards grabbed the unconscious body and moved it away, probably to get him to an infirmary. With nothing left she headed outside.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

As the MC announced the finals within the next few days and the audience was talking about today's events, Xavier watched in shock.

Much like everyone backstage, he didn't like Professor Frank in the slightest; why would a well-known Professor even come to a duel arena like this one? And the way he tried to hypnotize Rin into defeat was absolutely disgusting and if you were disgusting that even Armstrong hated your guts, you were a total piece of trash.

But the way the young girl pushed back, it was like something awakened in her, her amber eyes were cold, her smirk was evil and sharp, the entire arena was ice cold, and Xavier had no idea how she managed to do that, it made shivers run down his spine. Especially seeing Professor Frank freak out over nothing.

Or maybe it wasn't nothing and she was a Psychic duelist like Akiza said…

Suddenly, a loud scream caused Xavier to snap out of his thoughts. "Akiza?" he asked, turning around.

"My arm!" Akiza shouted, clutching her arm as if someone put it over an open fire. She dropped to her knees, gasping for breath. "Not again...not again!"

"What's happening?" Randsborg asked.

"Someone get the medics right now!" said Armstrong.

A red mark of what seems like a red claw began to form on Aki's arm. Aki clenched her teeth, feeling something...a memory, a flash of light, and it was pounding in her head and it wouldn't stop.

Grady grabbed a bottle of water and quickly poured the contents over Akiza's arm. It didn't seem to do anything, but the mark was gone soon enough. The pain also subsided but Aki was still gasping for air.

"Are you okay? Does it still hurt?" Xavier asked as Armstrong and Randsborg came a little closer to take a look.

Akiza shook her head, looking confused and worried. "I'm...I'm not sure what that was."

"But you said 'Not again', meaning that this happened before."

"That is none of your goddamn business," Akiza snapped, trying to suppress a memory in her mind. "I don't know why it's appeared again but I sure as hell want to know what this is."

"I know…" Randsborg said, but his voice sounded panicked.

"Oh do you now?" Armstrong questioned.

"It's an ancient legend, thousands of years old," Randsborg explained in a grim voice. "What briefly burned on the arm of the Black Rose Witch...Tis the mark of the Crimson Dragon!"

Aki's eyes widened and Xavier and Grady looked in shock. Armstrong just opened his mouth to let out a large belch.

"...The what?" Armstrong asked deadpanned.

"The Crimson Dragon," Randsborg repeated. "As the story says, he is a creature of legend, a god of sorts, that chooses five duelists with his servant dragons in order to fight oncoming Darkness. One of the dragons of legend had black scales and red petal wings. Why did I not realize it sooner?"

"Five dragons. Well if Little Miss Witch has one of them, then what are the other dragons?"

"I am not sure," Randsborh sighed. "I will have to console the records my family has about it. Last I heard, the dragons constantly varied from each retelling."

"So that means there are at least four more out there," Xavier said, folding his arms over his chest.

"Four dragons, four red marks, and four other duelists with psychic powers," Grady added, counting on his fingers. "Joy…."

"Do we know any other duelists who have that kind of power?" Armstrong grumbled.

"Yeah I think we do. Armstrong, you said that kid...Yugo, right? He has a rare dragon, one of a kind. Maybe he's a Signer," Grady pointed out.

"So anyone with a dragon in their deck and a strange red mark on their arm is a 'Signer' or something?" Akiza asked.

"Potentially," Randsborg answered. "But again, I must consult my family records because seeing this and hearing the name Zarc in one day...I shall have to request a meeting with a nearby oracle to see what this means."

"Uh, I can give you a fortune telling right now," said Xavier, raising his hand.

"Oh? You of fair eyes can see into the future?"

"Kinda…" Xavier said, rubbing the back of his head. He pulled out a deck from the pocket of his coat and fanned it out. "Right, let's see what you get. Choose a card."

Randsborg reached out towards a card in the center and pulled it out. He then looked at it but was quite perplexed at what he saw.

"A...Fortune Lady?" Randsborg said, reading the card's name.

Grady's eyes widened slightly while Armstrong had to cover his mouth for a few seconds before he started laughing.

"Fortune Lady?!" Armstrong cackled. "You had Fortune Ladies on you the whole time? Okay I can take a loss from a cat well since I had no idea you packed a deck like this! Good thing I wasn't fighting that !"

Akiza looked over Xavier's shoulder, ignoring Armstrong getting into a laughing fit. "You had that deck this entire time and didn't use it?"

"Yeah well, let's just say I have my reasons why I didn't use them." Xavier muttered.

"Yeah, reasons…" Grady repeated.

"So, what did you draw?" Akiza asked Randsborg.

"Fortune Lady Past, right side up," Randsborg answered, showing the card to everyone. It showed a black cloaked figure in orange trim, a sharp contrast to the other Fortune Ladies that were printed.

"Huh… strange." Xavier said, the image of the card was just calling out to him for some odd reason.

"What does that card mean?" Akiza asked.

"Strangely enough revelations of the past, either past actions, or simply secrets of pasts that were unlikely to be revealed easily."

"Do you seriously believe in this mumbo jumbo?" Armstrong asked with a scoff.

"Make fun all you want, but these predictions helped me stay alert and on my toes when I needed them most," Xavier answered.

"Very well then," Randsborg sighed, handing the card to Xavier. "The semi-finals have ended, and the finals wouldn't be for a few more days, at which our two resident good witches are to battle each other. The rest of us should research and find whatever we could to reveal this mystery of Witch Rin, her knight and the Crimson Dragon." While I also delve into this 'Zarc' character...

"Wait wait wait, why am I getting involved in this?" asked Armstrong.

"Well, we can do a quid pro quo - you scratch our back, we scratch yours."

"...Fine," Armstrong grunted. "But only because I don't like giving out favors."

"That's perfectly fine. We could just exchange numbers so we can get to each other when we need to."

"Good luck with finding anything in this cesspool," Armstrong muttered, begrudgingly handing Randsborg his phone. "Right, hand your number over."

As Randsborg cheerfully boasted about how a quest was about to begin and how he will be excited to pass his down to his children and grandchildren, and Akiza just looked at her arm in thought, Grady patted Xavier's shoulder.

"Um, Xavier, can we have a guy talk...alone?" asked Grady.

"Sure...I guess?" Xavier answered.

Grady nodded his head as he led Xavier down the hall, dragging the boy by the sleeve of his blouse. They entered an empty room and Grady closed the door behind him. Xavier fiddled with his collar.

"So...what do you wanna talk about?"

Grady sighed. "I've been thinking about what you said, what Rin repeated and how you reacted when that Professor spewed it out as part of his hypnotic induction. 'Everything has a dual nature'."

"Uh-huh…"

"It reminded me of someone I knew who also carried a Fortune Lady deck, and had some addiction to coffee too. They were also kinda nosy."

"I see. What is this person's name?

"Oh you know who that person is," said Grady as he pressed Xavier against the wall, narrowing his eyes. "...Cut the act right now."

Xavier looked up at Grady yet kept calm even as Grady grabbed his wrists above his head. "Or else what?"

"Or else...or else I probably will reveal to everyone out there that you're really a reporter!"

Xavier gulped as Grady released his grip on his wrists and stepped back. Then, Xavier rolled his eyes and clicked his teeth.

"Okay, okay! Jeez, tell the entire city why don't you?" Xavier said, his voice much more feminine, before removing the sunglasses, and the wig of short hair. Long black hair fell down their back and a pair of glasses with swirly lenses was put back on the cute face over the green-grey eyes.

Grady groaned. "Did you really have to go through all this just for your story, Carly? You know they're not gonna let you publish anything about this place "

"Of course I did," Carly answered. "And my report wasn't about this place!"

"Hmm?" Grady asked, raising his eyebrow. "Then what was it about?"

"The Arcadia Movement," Carly answered, turning on her phone to reveal that it was on the voice recorder app the entire time. "I'm here to investigate something in regards to the Black Rose Witch and an incident in the Daimon Area a while back."

"The Arcadia Movement? Why would you risk your life to get something about these guys? You know the stories Carly, you can't be that stupid."

"I'm not!" Carly yelled into his ear, face red with indignation before she let out a breath. "I'm doing this as a favour."

"A...favor?" Grady asked.

Carly looked down. "Yeah, a friend of mine...they asked me to investigate this. It was pretty personal, and I just…I couldn't say no."

"I see. But... " Grady pressed his forehead against Carly's own. "Carly, just please, be careful. You nearly revealed yourself back there by digging too deep into Akiza's past and by threatening Armstrong like that. If Akiza ever puts two and two together then your identity is compromised and she would probably kill you just by looking at you funny."

"I don't think even she would resort to murder, and yeah I'll be careful," Carly said with a nod. "I mean, she doesn't know who I am anyway. All I have to do is make sure I never duel with my Fortune Lady deck and she's none the wiser.

"But what about you? Are you actually gonna do research on the Crimson Dragon Randsborg muttered about?"

"Maybe," Grady said. "Not sure what we're gonna find in this city, but if there's an institute for Psychic duelists, a Black Rose Witch somehow manifested a red tattoo in front of our eyes and a girl with green hair could suddenly harness the power of ice to inflict mental damage on some psycho then anything is possible. Maybe the Arcadia Movement knows something about this."

"I doubt it else they'd be scouring the entire city for other duelists with red marks on their arms."

"Either way, I'll see if I can dig up anything. I think the best thing for me to do is look up more info on Rin and Yugo. Like Armstrong mentioned, that Synchro Dragon Yugo carried is rare and powerful. If it's one of those servants of the Crimson Dragon then we better make sure he stays away from Arcadia at all costs. And we street duelists have a tight community; I bet that some of them can give me info on those two lovebirds."

"Well, good luck with that. Do you know where to start?

"Sure do," Grady replied. "I'm just gonna go get me some milk after all is said and done."

"Milk?" Carly snorted.

"Hey, milk won't make you jittery and crash after fifteen minutes and you don't get drunk off of it!" Grady replied. "And it's optional to add it to coffee."

"Don't blame me that I'm addicted to this stuff, thank my horrible demeaning former boss." Calrey growled "That bastard Pitts, I hope he's going through bankruptcy by now." she added, tying her hair back up so it would fit into her wig.

Grady blinked. "Do I even wanna know what you did to send that guy to the pits?"

Carly chuckled darkly as she adjusted her wig and then swapped her normal nerd glasses for her sunglasses. There, she was Xavier once more.

"Do you?" she asked.

Grady stared at Carly for a couple of seconds, opened his mouth and then closed it.

"Right...well, let's meet up with Armstrong and Randsborg and then the two of us can go out for milk. My treat. Unless your friend needs you."

"No, they're busy with some fancy party tonight, so it's just you and me for the evening," Xavier winked as he opened the door. "Besides, I highly doubt we'll get into any trouble."

"Famous last words…" Grady muttered, following the disguised reporter out of the room.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Rin leaned against the wall her back to the entrance. She looked tired, her hand clutching her forehead gently. Everything that happened in the duel was all a blur, but she knows that the Professor paid dearly for what he did to her mind.

Divine watched the girl from a corner unseen and was about to go talk to her, congratulate her on her win, subtly manipulate and convince her to enter the Arcadia Movement, so that he could start spinning his web around her, like he did Aki. He smirked as he took a step forward but was interrupted by a white blur that nearly pushed him to the side.

"Rinrin!" Yugo yelled as he dashed towards Rin.

Rin was startled and gasped before turning around. Her eyes widened as Yugo lunged at her and hugged her tightly.

Divine half expected Rin to push him away outraged, slap him or yell at him indignantly. However she simply seemed...surprised.

"Y-Yugo? What are you doing here?" Rin asked, eyes wide.

"That's not important. Are you okay? Are you hurt? I was so worried, I had to go through a lot of guards just so I can see you," Yugo said hastily.

Rin smiled softly and hugged him back. "I'm okay, Yugo."

Yugo moved away just a bit, his hands unconsciously sliding to her waist. "You were so amazing! But… Why didn't you tell me you were dueling here? You didn't leave me a note! I got so worried about you. If it weren't for - "

Rin looked away, ashamed. "I just… wanted to do this for us. We need the money after all, and I thought I might surprise you with finally doing something."

"Rinrin…" Yugo sighed. "You're just amazing! You're strong and smart and brave, pretty. Headstrong and stubborn too."

"Hey!" Rin said, cheeks red.

"You're my best friend," said Yugo. "And I want to be by your side with everything you do. Help you with whatever you need. I don't want you to take care of us, I want us to work together like we've always had. So please don't leave somewhere without telling me; at least leave a note next time okay?"

"Yugo…" Rin smiled softly at him. Yugo looked at her up and down and seemed to then realize where his hands were. He took them off her body as if he just got burned and hid them behind his back. His face turned completely red.

"I...I'm sorry Rin," Yugo stammered. "I was just…"

Rin blinked and looked at Yugo, it has been a crazy few days for her to say the least. Meeting her Counterparts and Ray, agreeing to follow Ray's instructions and requests in order to get power to protect herself and Yugo, and to get to have their dreams come true and be Tops. And then was today, and this 'Professor Frank, hypnotizing her. It made her skin crawl.

She sighed before she looked at Yugo again and smiled sweetly then wrapped her arms around Yugo in a tight hug and burying her face in his neck.

"Ri-Rin…" Yugo stuttered blushing harder and not sure where to place his hands or what to do, Rin was always strong, stubborn, chaotic, so far only Yugo had had glimpses of Rin being vulnerable or weak, she never liked to show that side to anyone, not even herself, so when she would let her guard down and show any hesitation or fear it was always a rare and scary sight, it worried Yugo.

Rin took Yugo's hands, placing them back on her waist, before wrapping her arms once more around his neck, and pressing herself against him.

"Is this okay?" Rin asked against Yugo's lips.

Yugo was frozen, looking wide eyed at her, lips slightly parted, cheeks flushed red, his mind seemed to have short circuited, he swallowed.

"I…" Yugo's eyes trailed down from Rin's eyes to her lips, hands trembling slightly as he touched her smooth skin. "Yeah...yeah really really okay," he nodded with a smile making Rin's smile stretched from ear to ear before leaning in closer and kissing Yugo.

The boy's eyes widened, not having expected the kiss at all, his heart was hammering in his chest so fast it could almost burst out. After a few seconds he closed his eyes and leaned to the kiss, shoulders relaxing as Rin's hand slid up Yugo's back, making him shiver. Rin broke the kiss and smiled then ran her hand through Yugo's hair, before sliding her hand to his cheek and caressing it lovingly, making Yugo's smile widely.

Divine watched this exchange with intrigue. His eyes narrowed, watching the two of them,as an idea formed in his mind. If he played it right, he'd have two new subjects. If not, then he was sure that the boy would be useful in other ways.

But first, he needed to make sure Akiza was all right and ready to help obtain some new 'friends'...

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

A silver haired man entered the familiar room where three other duelists sat, each of them staring at their arms as a red sigil shone on each of them. This couldn't be good.

"So it's happening again," The silver haired boy said.

"But what could it possibly mean?" A blond man, who looked to be the same age as the silver haired one asked.

"It's been years and we still have no idea what these marks mean," a younger boy with black hair and blond streaks spiked upwards said. "Or why they're glowing especially now."

The glow faded soon after, leaving the birthmarks on the arms of the bearers

"Yeah, I will never understand how those manifested in the first place." The silver-haired one muttered.

"Yeah me neither," The one with spiky orange hair added. "They were just there one day, the next thing we know Jack and Yusei duel in this Friendship Cup and they're glowing and burning like crazy."

"If you ask me, they're a sign of power, that we're destined for something greater," the blond said, standing up dramatically.

"Yeah that's your answer for every strange thing we've encountered Jack," the orange haired boy said rolling his eyes.

"How else do you explain these marks on our arms, Crow?" the blond, Jack, asked. "You said it yourself: they glowed when Yusei and I fought with all of our anger and passion, this must mean something."

"That we gotta start fighting each other again in order for them to make it work?" Crow suggested.

"No," said Yusei, standing up. "Just think about the marks that we have; it's one part of a whole."

"With missing pieces," the silver haired one said.

"Kalin's right," Yusei said. "I don't think we're the only ones who have these marks, and if we find other people who have them, we might understand what's going on and why they're here in the first place."

"But didn't we already try looking into this?" asked Jack. "There aren't any records about strange dragon marks."

"Or there are, but we aren't looking deep enough," Yusei suggested.

"Or in the right places," Kalin added.

"I guess you got a point," Crow said. "And now considering we're the rulers of the city we might get closer to open this mystery," he continued with a grin.

"So where do we begin?" Jack asked, itching to get some answers.

Kalin played with one of his bangs in thought before his eyes lit up. "I think I have an idea, it's a long shot but he might know something."

"He?" Crow asked.

"The old man we met in the Facility."

Crow's eyes also lit up as it hit him. "Oh you mean-"

"Yep," Kalin said with a smile.

"Well that's great but he's been a free man for a long time," said Jack. "Where do we even find him?"

Kalin chuckled as he clapped his hands. "I think I know exactly where to go."

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

**Windwitch: Snowfall**

**(Wind/ Lv 2) Spellcaster/Tuner/Effect Atk/Def 300/1200**

If you have one or more windwitch on the field you can special summon this card from your hand, you can only use this effect once per turn. If this card is Normal Summoned, inflict 500 points of damage to your opponent. 

was a girl with white hair wearing a white suit with black linings and a black frilly skirt with a few white bows on them. Topping her head was a black witch’s hat with a blue and white viser covering her eyes. She held a small wand in her hand 

**…**

...

**…**

**Windwitch Sleet Bell** (Wind/LV 4 Spellcaster/Effect Atk/Def 1400/1500) If this monster is Normal or Special Summoned to the field inflict 300 Damage for every Windwitch card on the field. 

_ A young woman with dark blue and white hair, a deep blue suit a blue white around her neck and a white frilly skirt and blue shoes, she also had a witches’ hat with bell dangling on the side, and white and blue visor with a small wand in her hand that had a white bell at its base, _

**…**

**…**

**…**

**Windwitch: Neve Bell** (Wind/ LV8/Synchro Spellcaster/Effect Atk/Def 2800/3000) {1 Tuner + 1 non tuner monsters} Once per turn: Send 3 card from the top of your deck to the graveyard and destroy as many card for every ‘Windwitch’ monster on the field.

  
It was a young pretty girl with long white hair, the top of her head has two braids on either side of it that come together in the middle, with a blue witch’s hat a white and blue visor, a light blue dress and no shoes along with a black choker necklace with a small bell on it.

**…**

**…**

**…**

**Windwitch Hail Bell**

**(Wind LV 6 Spellcaster/Fusion Atk/Def 2100/1800)**

**[** 1Tuner+ 1or more non tuner Monster] once per turn inflict 300 burn damage for every Windwitch monster in the graveyard. You can only use the effect of this card once per turn.

It was a young pretty girl with long white hair, the top of her head has two braids on either side of it that come together in the middle, with a blue witch's hat a white and blue visor, a light blue dress and no shoes along with a black choker necklace with a small bell on it.

**…**

**…**

**…**

**Ego, The Mortal Lord**

**Light\Level 3\ Fairy\Effect\1000 DEF**

**This card Can't be destroyed in battle. Once per turn, this card inflects damage to the opponent 300x the number of monster that they control.**

**…**

**…**

**…**

**Ido, The Supreme Magical Force**

**LIGHT/Level 6/Fairy/Effect/2200 ATK/600 DEF**

**Description: When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the graveyard, during your next Standby Phase, Special Summon this monster and destroy all other monsters you control except this card. While you control this card, you cannot Normal Summon, Flip-Summon or Special Summon. You can only control one "Superego, the Celestial Lord"**

**Note: This card was created by 0ccam's Razor and first debuted in his fanfic: Shadowchasers. Permission granted to use this monster.**


	6. Blooming Friendship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys we're back, I would like to thank you guys for the comments that you left we really appreciate them and love them a lot, they make us feel happy when we read them and make us want to write more. 
> 
> This chapter was longer than we anticipated so we kinda split it into two parts. and we're really having fun with all the side characters that we're using, we're still amazed at that. Synchro is turning out to be so much fun once we threw the Arc-V rules out of the Window. 
> 
> And Man GPQ really loves to describe and put food in the stories, me personally, I don't care much for it but she enjoys it, and I'm so always here for Evil Queens.
> 
> Anyway we hope you like this chapter and please leave a few comments
> 
> So I'm done editing the story for a bit and reposted the chapters that were already there. I hope you guys enjoy and tell me what you think

From his office in the Arcadia Movement, Divine looked at the social media reports on his phone. He himself wasn’t really into this sort of thing, but considering how news wasn’t allowed to report about the tournament then word of mouth was his best choice.

(And to be fair, word of mouth was still the best way to spread news around. It’s like a plague, so contagious.)

Upon seeing the posts about Rin’s duel against Professor Frank, Divine was frustrated. He was that close to uncovering what was in Rin’s mind, when that boy came barging in and ruined everything. Frank was now taken away, an emotional wreck, and Rin probably wasn’t going to like having her mind tampered with like that in the future.

On the plus side, Divine realized that there was more to Rin than he perceived. An elemental affinity over ice, a strong will, If hypnotising Rin wouldn’t work, then slowly coercing her to join the Arcadia Movement by giving her a life outside of the lives that await a usual Commons just might do it. If given the opportunity for a life of luxury, a person was willing to sell their own soul for it.

Then there was the boy, Yugo. Divine had no idea if he himself had any sort of power aside from his luck and his skill with his Speedroid monsters from what he gleaned online from previous tournaments. Perhaps he has none, but he clearly had some sway over Rin, and that, Divine could use to his advantage. They cared deeply for one another, it was clear, so if something were to happen to Yugo…

Someone knocking on the door interrupted his thoughts. Just in time.

“Come in,” said Divine, turning his phone off.

The door opened as a familiar face took a step forward, dressed in a magenta dress and black boots.

“Divine, you wanted to see me?” Akiza asked as she walked towards Divine’s desk.

Divine stared at his protege entering, meek and codependent on him. There was a secret thrill in pruning the Black Rose Witch that he couldn’t describe. It made it easy for her to be tamed.

“Aki, my dear,” Divine greeted with a soft smile. Akiza blushed; only Divine has called her that nickname. “ Come in please. And yes, I wanted your help actually.”

“My help? With what?” Akiza asked, blinking in surprise. Usually Divine would direct her to duel and show her prowess, but this didn’t feel like one of those tasks.

“You’ve met the young girl, Rin was it? At the tournament, correct?” Divine asked. 

“Yes, I did,,” Akiza said with a nod, recalling how Rin approached her, smiled at her, called Aki her ‘friend’.

“Her display against Professor Frank was...unexpected, and quite magnificent to say the least.” Divine said with a nod, trying to hide his disgust with Frank failing to get through to Rin.

“Yeah, it was,” Akiza recalling the look of murder in Rin’s eye and the strength of her Windwitch monsters. She had never seen anyone duel with such powerful emotions before. “She's a really powerful duelist and an equally powerful psychic.”

“Ah so you saw it too,” Divine said, glad his pupil was putting it together. “Yes, well, I wanted to ask you if you could help recruit the girl.”

“M-me?” Akiza asked, surprised.

“Yes, I think a girl closer to her age might convince her to join us. I want you to befriend her, get to know her, and bring her here, make her a part of our... little family,” Divine said, taking Akiza’s hands in his. “Besides, I think having a friend of your own will boost your powers significantly.”

“O-oh well,” a smile broke on Akiza’s face, even though she was a little nervous about it. She never socialized with anyone in the Arcadia Movement as everyone usually knew to never approach the Black Rose Witch directly, so being tasked to befriend someone sounded alien to her. Like being asked to read minds. But she did want to be friends with Rin and if Divine said to do so, who was she to refuse? “I’d...I’d like to.” 

Divine smiled and it was the smile that made Akiza’s heart flutter like a hummingbird.

“Excellent, now don’t be shy to ask anything, and when you bring Rin to us, you can bring her...friend with her, the one who woke her up.”

“Oh yeah...Yugo.”

“Yes, you know of him?”

Akiza nodded. “One of the other duelists heard about them, they’re apparently inseparable.” She didn’t know if it was right to mention that it was the former Chief of the Facility, but it didn’t matter in the end. 

“I see. And we don’t know if the boy has any powers of his own do we?”

“No I guess not,” Akiza said, shaking her head. 

“Very well, perhaps I’ll test him if he does come here.”

Akiza didn’t add anything to that, she was nervous and unsure of what she should do, she had never approached people before to be her friend. Despite her public destructive demeanor, Akiza was very awkward and shy, she didn’t know if she can convince either of them to join. 

Divine smiled his usual soft charming smile. “I know you can do it, Aki. I believe in you.”

The icoragment made Akiza smile, and for the small blush to return to her cheeks. “Thank you Divine.” 

“Oh anytime, it is I who should thank you my dear. Now you may go whenever you please, I can tell someone to drive you there.”

“Oh uh…” Akiza looked down. “I don’t...know where to go.”

Divine chuckled and patted Akiza’s head, fingers gently stroking her magenta bangs. “Don’t worry, you can trust me to help out. Now then, here’s what you’re going to do…”

…

…

…

Rin slowly returned to consciousness feeling safe and warm even though she didn’t drape a blanket over her body the night before. She slowly became aware of the familiar hands around her waist, and the feeling the body and soft lips pressed against her. It all felt so sweet and familiar to her even though she had never felt such things before. Regardless, she didn’t want it to end; moments like this were small and scarce.

Rin smiled and slowly opened her eyes before looking back, recalling how she and Yugo were in bed together. Oh that’s right; after getting ramen, she and Yugo had slept beside one another last night. It was a little irrational but Yugo wanted to make sure that she was safe and by his side when he woke up, wanted to be sure that Rin would not get harmed again. And Rin herself, well, how could she say no? Remembering the feeling of Frank inside her head made her disgusted, her fingers froze over once more before a sigh from Yugo made her relax. 

Rin smiled and turned around in the bed taking a good look at Yugo’s sleeping face, her smile widened as she slid closer and started running her hand through his hair, making Yugo mewl softly and nuzzle closer to her. Rin smirked, placing a kiss on Yugo’s lips, before letting his head res on her chest. At times, Yugo like this reminded her of Freya if she happened to become human. Playful, loving, loyal and maybe a bit loud. But she adored them all the same. 

Rin wasn’t sure she wanted to wake him up yet, he looked absolutely adorable like that, and his body so close to her felt so good. She didn’t want anything bad to happen to Yugo, they both wanted better lives, it wasn’t fair that they didn’t, and if this city valued skill in Duel Monsters then they were one of the best so why shouldn’t they have better lives? If Ray was right, and her father would try to get rid of Yugo, kill him, get rid of her to bring Ray back then fuck him and fuck where he thinks that that will happen. She would not fall under Akaba’s rule, and Yugo would not be harmed, not on her watch, so she had to do what she could to unleash Zarc, to give Yugo more power like Ray gave her. 

Rin narrowed her eyes thinking of Frank again, her fingers kept running through Yugo’s hair as she reflected on it, she was angry, and so was Ray, remotely letting a man like that into her mind, to fall into a trap like that, it made both girls livid, they wanted the man’s head on a pike, and mostly Ray was angry at herself, she had let herself fall into a trance, she couldn’t help Rin, she couldn’t even help herself, if it wasn’t for Yugo and Zarc...Rin bit her lower lip it would have bled had Yugo not nuzzled to her breaking her out of her thoughts.

Rin smiled softly, maybe it was time to wake Yugo up. She leaned closer and placed a kiss on Yugo’s neck making him moan and arch it back. “Yugo~” she whispered in his ear, making Yugo mewl like a kitten, he was so adorable, he made Rin’s heart flutter. “Yugo wake up,” she whispered.

“Mmm, noooooo….,” Yugo mumbled in his sleep, burying his head in Rin’s chest and hugging her closer. “Rinrin~,” he mumbled, wanting to stay where he was and never move again. It felt too good to do anything else.

“Yugo,” Rin insisted again. “Time to wake up,” she said again before placing a kiss on Yugo’s lips, making him moan and making his eyes flutter open. 

“Rinrin,” Yugo said with a yawn.

“Hey sleepy head,” Rin said with a small chuckle. 

Yugo grinned sleepily before realizing how close the two of them were, with Rin actually being on top of him, pressing her body to his, making his face flush red completely to the point of steam rising from his head. “R-rin...um.... So-sorry I...”

Rin smirked and simply placed another kiss on Yugo’s lips, shutting his babbling quickly. “Good morning,” she whispered and sat up. 

“M-morning,” Yugo stuttered and Rin sat up, straddling him, giving Yugo a look at her chest. Rin moved off of Yugo a few seconds later and slid off of the bed, with Yugo’s eyes fallowing Rin’s movements as she stretched. 

She turned back to Yugo who couldn’t take his eyes off of her. “Come on, how about we make some breakfast?” she said with a smile.

“Oh um… right...okay…” Yugo still dumb founded about this new relationship status between them. Rin seemed completely relaxed and sure of herself and her actions, while Yugo was a little awkward about it, he swallowed, wanting to kiss Rin, touch her, watch her reactions when he-- Yugo cut the line of thoughts and shook his head, face completely red, he took a deep breath and let it out before heading to their small kitchen where Rin was already preparing something for them.

The two of them got breakfast prepared quickly. Rin brought in leftover rice and poured water into the rice cooker to make it boil while Yugo made the table. He looked like a cat as he saw Rin pulled apart some dried fish to toss into the soup.

“Should we take the D-wheels for a test ride today?” Yugo asked. 

“Why? Do you think they need more tuning up?” Rin asked as she placed some food on the plates. 

“Well mine is fine, but we haven't checked yours in a while,” Yugo answered, coming behind Rin and carefully wrapping his arms around her, making her smile and lean back to him, Yugo felt as if his heart was going to explode. “Besides I missed riding it with you. What do you say?” 

“Sure,” Rin said, pressing Yugo’s cheek closer and kissing it again. Yugo couldn’t help but place a kiss on the back of Rin’s neck, making her smile widen. 

They ate their simple rice porridge breakfast with the two of them talking about what else they might need to buy for the week and if they have enough money to buy more cards. Preliminaries for the Friendship Cup was coming soon and any win they could obtain before then would get them noticed, get them under the radar and potentially have them enter the tournament.

“Well we can try to duel each other. We haven’t done that for a while,” Yugo suggested, biting into some fish.

“You hate how cold my Windwitches’ attacks are,” Rin pointed out.

“Yeah, I swear one of these days I’ll get sick because of them.” Yugo then quickly added in a quiet voice, “Don’t tell them that; they know I like them.”

Rin chuckled. “They know, it’s why their attacks on you are always a cold breeze and snowballs instead of actual storms.” 

Yugo paused, reminded of how Freya appeared to him as a warning. He didn’t know if it was the right time to mention it that it was because of a cat that he was able to help her snap out of Professor Frank’s mind tricks (and if he knew where that bastard was sent to, he’d give him a piece of his mind!)

“Hey, Rin,” Yugo said.

“Yeah?” Rin asked looking up from her bowl at Yugo. 

He was about to ask her something before someone knocked on the door. 

“Hold that thought,” Rin said as she went to the door and opened it slightly to get a glimpse of who could be coming to see them this early in the morning. 

…

…

…

Akiza stood before the door to Rin and Yugo’s “house”, looking around. It wasn’t...bad. The neighborhood was clean, the people weren’t wearing rags, they had clean water and electricity. She didn’t really care about the changes between Tops and Commons, but she somewhat sympathized with the Commons being ostracized for not having the luxuries as the Tops. It was quite similar to what she and her fellow Psychics felt. Being called out because they were different. It’s not like they chose to be born with these powers!

Still, if having Rin enter the Arcadia Movement means that Psychics could feel safe then that’s what she’ll do. Akiza would mentor Rin to harness her powers, sharpen them and make it so that no one could hurt her like how Professor Frank did.

The door opened and Akiza was face to face with Rin wearing a simple pink nightgown. Akiza stared at the Windwitch duelist before remembering why she was here. 

“Rin,” said Akiza with a stoic face. “I came because I….I wish to become friends with you.”

Rin blinked a few times before smiling. “Hi Akiza, come in!”

“Oh um...okay…” Akiza mumbled, coming inside the house carefully as if she’s ready to be attacked by an angry mob. just as someone in black hooded jacket carrying an egg sandwich and a bottle of milk in their hands watched her enter.

“Rin?” Yugo asked from the other room. “Who is i-? Oh, hi,” Yugo said as he saw Akiza trailing after Rin looking very tense. 

“Yugo, this is Akiza Izayoi,” said Rin. “I met her in the tournament. Akiza, this is my boyfriend, Yugo.”

“Nice to... meet you,” Akiza said, trying to be formal. That’s how people greeted one another. 

Yugi, who blushed when Rin called him her boyfriend, smiled a large smile at Akiza. “Nice to meet you too,” he said, extending his hand. Akiza took his hand and shook it. Suddenly, her dragons roared softly, making her tense up. 

Yugo blinked a few times before his eyes widened. Rin smiled “Yugo, Akiza has two Synchro Dragons in her deck, I bet you’d love to meet them.” 

“R-really?” asked Yugo.

Akiza flinched. She never had anyone actually see her dragons up close and personal except when she was dueling them and the dragons had destroyed their monsters. “Uh...yes?”

“Can I see them?” 

“Well…” Akiza reached for her extra deck, not sure if it was okay to just let someone see the card up close and personal.

“No, I mean meet them in person, um… sorry that came out weird. Akiza, can you summon them please?” 

“You wish...to duel me?” Akiza questioned, surprised at Yugo’s earnest request. The only times she dueled people was under Divine’s orders. But he ordered her to befriend them so...

“Well, if that’s what it takes to see them…I’ll show you my dragon if you show me yours! You don’t mind, do you?” 

Akiza paused. She wanted to befriend them, but if she unleashed her dragons, Yugo would run away and be terrified of her. But...she had to try. Had to do it for Divine’s sake...and probably for her own too.

“S….sure.”

“Awesome!” Yugo cheered. “I’ll get my Duel Disk right now and -- .”

“Yugo,” Rin called amused as Yugo was about to trip over himself..

“Yeah?” Yugo asked looking back. 

“You might wanna change your clothes sweetheart,” Rin said with a smile and Akiza’s eyes widened. 

Yugo looked down at the simple yellow tanktop and the blue sleeping shorts he used for pajamas before he blushed. “Oh! Right! Right! Need to change! Be back in a sec, sorry.” 

Rin giggled and Akiza had to stifle a snort of her own. 

“Well I have to change too, so make yourself at home,” said Rin.

Akiza nodded once as Rin left to her bedroom. The Psychic duelist looked around, seeing how simplistic the house was: it had a kitchen, a living room. The walls were littered with posters advertising the Friendship Cup, there were a stack of books at the corner, and for some reason a pile of washcloths. Still, it felt like it was lived in instead of the clean, sterilized yet somehow empty bedroom she had in the Arcadia Movement’s headquarters. Here there was warmth and love and other feelings that Akiza buried deep within the dirt like the body of a person she murdered and hoped no one would ever unearthed.

Still, she felt nervous and anxious. To have someone to talk to, to be close to, side by side, made her feel as light as a cherry blossom petal in the breeze. She and Rin and Yugo being friends...it would make her feel so...happy.

“I wonder if I’ll finally make a friend….” Akiza whispered to herself, still oblivious to the person in the black hooded jacket staring out the window who had just taken at least five photos of her. 

…

…

…

It took a few minutes for both Yugo and Rin to change. To Yugo, changing in his riding suit was just as easy as someone sweats or yawns. He was preparing his Duel Disk when Rin knocked and entered his room.

“Yugo, are you done?”

“Yeah just looking for…” Yugo froze in the middle of his sentence as he looked at Rin wearing a completely new riding outfit. Gone was the pink and white one she used to wear, now her new one was pure black with neon green trim with the front open showing a bit of her cleavage.

“You like it?” Rin teased, hand on her hip, as she leaned down, showing off how her chest and rear were accentuated by the black.

Yugo blinked a few times, his face went red, his eyes wide, A growl rumbled from his chest that he didn’t know where it came from. “I love it,” he said, voice hoarse. “You look...incredible…” he continued, his legs moving without consent as his arms landed on Rin’s waist

Rin winked as she cupped Yugo’s cheek with a hand. “I knew you’d love it,” she purred.

“How di-wait… this is for me? You got this outfit because you knew I’d like it?!” Yugo asked bewildered. 

“Yep! It’s pretty comfortable and I did need a new suit. The other one ripped, so I went out shopping, saw this one being sold at a low price and I thought it’d be perfect! Judging from your reaction, I certainly wasn’t wrong was I?” Rin asked with a devious smirk, her eyes half laid, turning a cold shade of amber that made Yugo’s heart hammer in his chest.

It took him a split second to react and kiss Rin’s lips, pulling her closer to him. Rin ran her hand through Yugo’s hair making the other boy shiver and he kissed her harder. He kissed down Rin’s chin and neck reaching her collar bone. Yugo felt like a man possessed by that point; he couldn’t _not_ kiss her. 

“We have a guest Yugo, we need to go,” Rin whispered breathlessly in Yugo’s ear, as she kept running her hand through his hair. 

“You look so amazing like this,” Yugo whispered. “Rin,” the growl was back in his voice as he pressed Rin to the wall. 

Rin cupped Yugo’s face and pulled him closer for another kiss. “I promise it’s not the last time I’m gonna wear this. But we need to head out,” she said, her thumb caressing Yugo’s cheek. “We can’t keep Akiza waiting, can we?”

She felt Yugo shiver and for a split second his crystal blue eyes turned to slits, before he blinked them away and bit his lip. It made Rin’s heart quicken in her chest. Something dark and sinister was inside Yugo, and it made her both excited and yet calm all the same like entering a haunted house that she knows is fake but is anticipating the horrors she’ll experience.

She caressed Yugo’s cheek again, and he leaned to her touch, placing a kiss on her palm, he let out a shaky breath and looked back at her, his face now red once more as he saw how close the two of them were while he pressed Rin to the wall. 

“I...this is okay?” he asked softly.

Rin smiled and nodded. “This is okay.”

Yugo’s grin widened even if his face was still as red as a tomato. “You look really really great you know,” he whispered. 

Rin giggled and patted Yugo’s head; she was sure she almost heard him purr. “Come on, let’s get to our guest.”

“Yeah,” Yugo nodded, untangling himself from Rin with a great deal of will power, and she zipped her suite fully. 

The two left Yugo’s room, with the blue eyed boy grabbing Rin’s hand and squeezing it gently. 

“Sorry if we kept you waiting Akiza,” Rin said with a smile. 

Akiza’s shoulders seemed to relax as she smiled too. “No, not at all. You ready to go?”

“Is the sky blue?” Yugo answered.

“Why...yes, it is.”

“Then yeah, we’re ready!” said Yugo, grabbing Rin and Akiza’s hands. “Let’s go!!!” 

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

“Yusei for the last time, Kalin and Crow are going to find that old man. You don’t have to do this!” Jack Atlas yelled at his workaholic king of a boyfriend for the third time that morning.

Yusei’s eyes didn’t look up from the monitor. “Look, we agreed that we need to find this old man right? He’s our best chance, so I have to find him and quick before someone else gets him,” said workaholic king of a boyfriend replied back. On the monitor was the general area of Neo-Domino and an image of the old man in question, a yellow criminal mark under his eye. A red radar was scanning the area, trying to see where he could be.

“You don’t have to do this!” Jack groaned, picking at his spicy pork ramen with some chopsticks. He at least had the basic cooking skills on how to boil an egg, half of which was floating in his ramen. “Yusei, aside from Kalin and Crow, who exactly would want an audience with that man in the first place? He’s been a free man for years.”

“But he has a tendency to smuggle rare and illegal cards every now and then,” Yusei replied.

“Doesn’t everyone do that?”

“Except unlike them, he’s not capable of defending himself. His cards are good, but he sometimes gets so enamored showing them off like he’s a museum guide that he forgets to think of strategies.”

Jack stood up and practically dragged Yusei’s chair to the dining room table. He then placed his hands on Yusei’s shoulders. “Look the old man will probably not piss off someone that important. Just relax for one second in your life, would you? When’s the last time you ate? Or even slept?” 

“Uh...I think I had a power nap, a red bean bun and a glass of soy milk a while ago.”

“And when was that exactly?”

Yusei’s head bobbed down a little before he lifted his head up and said, “....4 AM?”

Jack groaned. As much as Yusei was a hard worker, sometimes he worked too much for his own health. “That’s it! Bed! Now!”

“No, I don’t need to -JACK!!!!” Yusei yelled as Jack grabbed Yusei’s waist and placed him over his shoulder before carrying him to their bedroom. “Put me down!!!” Yusei whined. “The old man needs me!”

“He does not need you,” Jack replied. “But _you_ need to sleep for about eight hours and then actually eat something. Which I’ll cook for you when you wake up.”

“NO! ANYTHING BUT THAT!”

“... I’ll get you some take-out if Crow isn’t back yet.”

Yusei grumbled as Jack practically dropped him onto the large bed, before placing his hand on top of Yusei’s head and pulled his head back gently to place a kiss on Yusei’s lips. Seeing Yusei calmed down, Jack smirked and walked out, closing the door behind him. And then he locked the door to keep Yusei inside.

“I’ll show him,” Yusei grumbled, plotting a way to get back at Jack for this, before he started to yawn. Well, the bed was very comfortable… even without the four of them in it together, maybe he should rest his head for a few seconds… and his eyes… yeah that sounded very good to him right now... 

Still, when he woke up, he was going to tell Jack that he wouldn’t have sex with him for a while. 

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Carly never liked waking up in the mornings. 

It usually meant hearing her phone blare as her boss kept demanding her to be in her office in ten minutes with coffee or she was fired. It meant rushing out of bed, shower, get dressed, buy coffee (for said boss) and then race out before the traffic became heavy and she arrived ten minutes after work started with lukewarm coffee that Mr. Pitts was going to spit in her face and all the hours she spent writing up reports or investigating street duels went to waste over minor celebrity gossip.

How and why Carly lasted so long when she got low pay and was demeaned to be the coffee girl was beyond her, but it was when Mr. Pitts decided that her investigations over the Arcadia Movement was rejected over _Jack Atlas and his love of Blue Eyes Mountain Coffee_ did she finally snap. 

She always heard the threats about being fired even on days she was sick or she had to get her car fixed. It was hard to report on street duels nowadays when everyone could do so on their phone and even getting her opinion article was out of the question. “Who wants to hear about _your_ opinion anyway?” Angela Rains, the favorite reporter of the _Neo-Domino Post_ questioned.

Well, the people who paid her a hefty sum for her reports did after she quit her job, reread her contract three times, and talked to HR about how she had been receiving salary cuts over the blond and much more popular Angela Rains. It also helped that the same social media that made it hard for her to report on street duels gave her some, ahem, “evidence” she could use to expose Mr. Pitts’ favoritism in the office.

It didn’t take long for the scandal to leak out and Carly watched in glee at Mr. Pitt’s begging her to return, even stating how she was actually an important figure in his business. Carly just retorted as she carried her stuff out of the office with a smirk on her face, “Who wants to hear _your_ opinion, anyway?” while drinking the Blue Eyes Mountain Coffee she bought on her last day with that man. And she was sipping it all the way back to her car.

Now she sat at her favorite café waiting for her friend to arrive and going through her notes that she took after she went back to her apartment last night. She re-read everything and searched online for anything that could connect to what she uncovered, but it all started to sound like some big conspiracy. The Arcadia Movement, the red mark on Akiza’s arm, the Crimson Dragon...were they all merging together into one thing? Do they even mix? And who are the other Signers? Are they with Divine too, under his control? Do they have powers too? If so, what kind of powers? 

But...could it be that they _don’t_ know about their powers either? It’s a slim possibility but it’s there. And what are these Dragons that these Signers have? And what’s with all these Dragons all of a sudden? 

Carly groaned and her head hit the table. She hadn’t had so many questions running through her head since she crashed from drinking coffee from at least 10 different cafés.

“Tough night?” a familiar voice that made Carly smile and raise her head to look at the new arrival. It was a beautiful woman with straight black hair and fair skin with green eyes. She was wearing a black blouse and a dark green skirt with short high heeled boots. On the middle of her forehead was a beautiful blue gem in a teardrop cut like a third eye. 

“You don’t know the half of it, Misty,” Carly replied.

“I thought that these all ended after you let your former boss in the pits,” Misty said as she sat across from Carly at the table, taking a look at the drink menu. 

Carly sighed tiredly. “So did I.” 

Misty smiled softly and took Carly’s hand in hers. “You have no idea how grateful I am for you Carly, I couldn’t possibly thank you enough.” Misty’s hand clinched Carly’s tightly, looking like she was about to cry. 

Carly’s other hand covered Misty’s own. “Hey, don’t worry about it. I saw how you were when Toby...disappeared. You’re my best friend Misty, I’ll do anything for you.” 

Misty smiled sadly, closing her eyes and willing her tears away as she squeezed Carly’s hands in her own. It was a strange encounter how the two met. Carly was going undercover -- as Xavier Maxa -- during the premiere of the _Jack Atlas_ biopic -- to hopefully get an interview from him about how he climbed the ranks from Commons to the Tops. However, Carly wasn’t quite used to the sunglasses she used as Xavier -- not to mention hearing many Tops commenting why she’d even wear something as low class as _sunglasses_ to the event -- and ended up tripping over her own two feet in front of the woman known as Misty Lola.

Misty Lola was a well-known fashion model, whose elegance and grace was like seeing a dark-haired goddess ascending from the underworld to take you away to the afterlife. Her gaze was like a serpent’s, paralyzing, especially when it came to the rumors that she could see what was in someone’s future just by staring at their face.

Carly had run into her and her sunglasses and fell. She apologized profusely to whoever she had bumped into, and the moment Carly stood up her face was grabbed by Misty, making Carly freeze in place as the fashion model took a good look at her. 

_“Oh I’m so sorry, please don’t get me kicked out!”_ Carly begged. _“I need this for my job or else my boss is going to fire me!”_

But instead of saying anything like that, Misty helped Carly stand up and was quite amused by the white buttoned up blouse, the black pants and the wig that Carly wore to disguise herself. She then removed Carly’s sunglasses and looked straight into the reporter’s eyes.

_“I see something in your future, Carly.”_

_“W-what?”_

_“Yes, a shadow of death.”_

It was a strange first meeting to say the least, but Misty had just smiled at her and kept her secret. The next day Misty approached Carly’s apartment in her limo, dressed like she was off to a gala while Carly was still dressed in her outfit as Xavier, her green hair disheveled as she was waiting for her report to be sent to her boss.

Misty smiled and offered to take Carly out for a coffee. Needless to say Carly didn’t understand why Misty Lola of all people took an interest in her, but she couldn’t very well say no. Carly offered Misty to come in while she changed and groomed herself the best she could. She was nowhere near as fancy or as pretty as Misty was but she didn’t feel as self conscious as before, wearing her standard periwinkle/cyan striped shirt, jeans and orange vest with faux-fur trim. 

The two had had a great time together and exchanged their numbers. It became a normal thing after that, every Sunday and Thursday to head out together and hangout, to have fun or to just complain about the people in their jobs, especially Carly’s boss. It was thanks to Misty that Carly obtained more confidence to finally leave Mr. Pitts and even bring up incriminating evidence of her salary being cut and the infidelity he had with Angela Rains. 

Carly was absolutely grateful for Misty, who had become her best friend and confidant, and when Misty lost all contact with her brother, Toby, she had been devastated. Misty explained that Toby wasn’t a normal boy, but he had latent psychic abilities. Toby would talk on and on and on about wanting to meet the Black Rose Witch up close and personal, to enroll into the Arcadia Movement so he could hone his skills, to use his powers for good. Misty was worried about it, the Black Rose Witch was dangerous and destructive, with seemingly little regards to anyone else. Toby still insisted, saying it would be what would make him happy. Misty reluctantly relented, wishing Toby the best and thought that he’d return to her safe and sound the next day.

But weeks later she had suddenly lost all contact with her brother, no hide nor hair. She tried to ask the head of the Arcadia Movement Divine about him but she couldn’t get inside to do so. She wasn’t a duelist -- even though she had a Reptilian deck, she admitted that it was mostly for show -- and the security was too heavy to let her in, not to mention Divine had connections with the top of Sector Security. She couldn’t do anything, she couldn’t see her brother or find out what happened to him. She went to Carly and broke down in front of her. Carly hugged her and promised her she’d find a way to enter into the movement and find out what happened to her brother. 

So Carly threw herself into her work more than ever. She had spent as much time investigating and dueling and trading information with every broker she knew in the Commons, combed every single social media website and news article about the Arcadia Movement and the Black Rose Witch and even tried making a name for herself as Xavier, using the money owed to her by Mr. Pitts to invest into a Fabled Deck. She finally reached the underworld arena and faced the Black Rose Witch herself, with all the good that did. Of course, she never expected that she would destroy Akiza’s Synchro Dragon _s_ twice and got her down to half her lifepoints with such a deck as that, but that wasn’t as important as trying to get into Akiza’s head that someone was after her, wanting answers.

Fighting Akiza wasn’t as enlightening as she has hoped but everything else after it was. Now here she was elbow deep in a conspiracy with Crimson Dragons, Ice Princesses and Divine. And it also involved her, Grady, a knight and the former Chief of the Facility. Sometimes whenever Carly draws her fortune in the morning, she wonders if Lady Fate just loved playing pranks on her. She just hoped she was on the Lady’s good side. 

A waiter came in a few moments later to take Misty’s order -- black coffee and an egg white breakfast sandwich -- as Carly looked at her phone, seeing Grady’s message.

_D.Pitt: Carly, if you were to make a caption of these photos, what would you write?_

Carly raised an eyebrow at this before her eyes bugged out of her head at what she saw. Akiza Izayoi, the Black Rose Witch, interacting with Rin and Yugo! 

_CarliXCX: Why is she with the two of them? Also Grady, are you spying on two 14 year olds in their house?_

_D.Pitt: Of course not! I was just going the long way home from getting my breakfast and I see the freaking Black Rose Witch standing in front of Yugo and Rin’s home, wanting to be all buddy-buddy with them!_

_CarliXCX: Why though? I mean sure Rin has powers like hers, but is that really enough to get Akiza to want to hang out with them? She’s surrounded by Psychics._

_D.Pitt: I don’t know, but if she does get Rin in the Accadia Movement then that really can’t be good, the girl is really really strong. You saw what she did to Frank!_

_CarliXCX: Yeah we all did. Even Akiza looked in horror, right?_

_D.Pitt: Yep. It takes a lot to get the freaking Black Rose Witch to shake in those boots of hers._

_D Pitt: Speaking of which, I’m gonna try to get more info on Akiza. Meet me at our usual place in three hours._

_CarliXCX: Fine, but be careful. The Arcadia Movement might be trying to hide any witnesses.._

_D.Pitt: Noted._

_D.Pitt:...but uh I was serious about the captions though, think you could -- “_

Carly just turned off her phone.

“Is everything alright?” Misty asked, just as the waiter returned with the coffee and breakfast sandwich. 

“Yeah, it’s Grady,” Carly answered. “He’s getting some info and keeping an eye on some important people. It’s just one of those days.”

“Are you two -- “

“No, Grady just makes sure I don’t get into too much trouble. Hell, he figured out I was Xavier just from a sentence and my ‘need’ for coffee.”

Misty gave a small smile as the two of them catched up on their days, sipping coffee and just relishing how peaceful their morning was.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

“Where are we going?” Akiza asked. As both Rin and Yugo lead her out, they had changed their outfits into what Akiza believed to be riding outfits, with Yugo’s being mostly white, along with black stripes on the pants with blue red and yellow above it, as well as on the jacket. Rin’s outfit was a one piece black suit with dark green stripes lettered around like scars on the outfit. 

“Well we wanted to take our D-wheels for a ride, see if they need anything to be fixed or upgraded, we can head to a place where you and Yugo can duel to your heart’s content,” Rin answered, coaxing Aki to the D-Wheel as if it was a horse. “Come on, it won’t bite you.” 

“I’ve-I’ve never ridden on one before,” Akiza confessed. “Divine said, well he said that they’re…”

“They’re what? Trash? Only used for blood sports?” Rin snorted. 

“...Dangerous,” Akiza said plainly.

“They were originally built for the Commons to express their freedom,” Yugo explained. “Then the Tops came and took what was our chance to be free into a show for them to laugh at. But after all this time, we have our freedom back and we’re never letting it go. Don’t you ever feel that way Akiza? Wanting to be free?”

“Well…” Akiza said unsure.

“We’ll be the ones riding them,” Rin said, propping herself onto her black D-Wheel. “Just choose one of us and ride in the back, we promise we won’t let you get hurt,” she said with a smile. 

“Al...Alright…” Akiza said unsure. “I’ll… ride behind Rin,” she finally decided. Rin nodded and handed Akiza a spare helmet. 

“Hold on tight then,” Rin said with a smile as Akiza sat behind her and placed her hands around Rin’s waist. 

“Yugo?” Rin asked.

“Ready,” Yugo said with a nod. 

“Set!” Ren shouted and Akiza clutched Rin’s waist harder. 

“Go!” And both D-wheels were off with amazing speed, Akiza nearly yelled at how fast they were going and nearly running over the person with the black hoodie on.

“Shit!” The black hooded figure said, pulling the hood off to reveal their black hair. “There’s no way I’m gonna follow them at this rate.” they sighed. “Still, best leave them be. I better see if I can get more info about Akiza’s past. But, ugh…” They groaned. “Akiza’s a Tops; there’s no way I’m gonna get info from them!”

They began to pace around in thought. “Okay, think, think Grady! Who else was in the tournament? It was you, Rin, that psycho creep, Armstrong, Randsborgh, Carly, Aki and...” he paused before he smacked his forehead. “Right...that Duel Profiler! Yeah he got pissed off that Rin tore through his defenses easily and ranted how she stopped him from fighting off that Black Rose Witch. I wonder if he’s still willing to give up any info on Akiza…”

Shrugging, Grady decided to head back to his home to pick up his D-Wheel, unaware that someone in blue/green robes was keeping a close eye on _him_. 

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

“Nay, nay, nay….”

In the honorable Randsborg manor, Gill was searching through the catacombs hidden underground for anything he could find on the Crimson Dragon. Any text or book or even an old scroll would suffice. He had been working by candlelight and he knew that it was not good for his eyes the longer he stayed. But the mystery was calling out to him, a quest was here and it was his duty as a knight to go on quests to stop darkness from spreading.

And despite his antiquated appearance and speech, he was no fool. Not all Psychics and witches were evil, it is fear of the unknown and strange that has made them ostracized. 

“This is just as hard as spinning straw into gold!” Randsborg groaned, dropping a scroll to the ground. “Mine ancestors were great at many skills; organization was not one of them!”

He turned around and, because of the dim lighting, slipped on a book and fell onto the floor with a _CRASH!_ that caused the bookshelf behind him to drop all of its scrolls on top of him.

“Oh...this is simply impossible!” the knight said with a muffled voice from beneath the pile of scrolls before standing up, sending papers and other scrolls to fall onto the floor, one of them landing in his hand. “How could I possibly find-- hmm, what may this be?” Gill asked, opening the scroll and reading its contents. His eyes widened in awe at what he unraveled. “By the Gods! I HAVE FOUND IT! This is the key to our mystery, the beginning of our epic quest!” 

Just then, the candle he had been using as light blew out. Thankfully, Randsborg kept his phone on him for such an occasion.

“I must send word to my fellow band of knights!” Randsborg said, taking photos of the scroll with glee. “They will be excited of what I have found, especially He of Fair Eyes! Yes he shall be the first to -- “

Randsborg paused when he saw the profile picture of Xavier. Instead of the short-haired boy with sunglasses, there was now a picture of a girl his age with long green hair and glasses with spiral lenses.

“My word...why is he of fair eyes in the garments of a lady?!” Randsborg gasped. “Why would he be so brazen to show this sort of profile?!”

A few seconds passed before it hit him.

“Wait! Yes I see now! Tis must be his disguise so that he may hide when the situation calls for it! What brilliance!”

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Slowly, Akiza began to open her eyes, the wind running through her hair as Rin sped off in the roads. Everything around her was a blur of color and sound, she had no idea how Rin or Yugo were driving these things, but the more they went on, the more she loved it. Seeing the sky, the wind in her hair, the sensation of freedom. 

In the Arcadia Movement she didn’t have that. For as much as she loved Divine, she honestly felt like she was in a cage most of the time. A gilded cage covered in thorned roses to prevent her from leaving instead of others from approaching her. 

“See? Isn’t this fun?” asked Rin.

“Yeah it really is, just don’t let me fall please!” Akiza yelled. 

Rin chuckled. “Don’t worry, we got ya!” Rin called back before making a sharp turn making Akiza scream in terror before they turned to glee the longer the ride went on. She felt so...alive. 

After half an hour of test driving Yugo and Rin finally reached the destination they were heading for. It was an old recycling plant, long since abandoned. Akiza wasn’t sure why this was the best place to duel, but then again she dueled in more dilapidated places than this so she wouldn’t complain. Besides, she was on a mission to befriend Rin and Yugo. 

“That was amazing!” Yugo sighed, hopping off his D-Wheel. “And it looks like our rides are in pretty good shape, don’t you think?”

“Yep!” Rin said, patting hers affectionately. “They’ll be ready to go for the Friendship Cup.”

“Friendship...Cup?” Akiza repeated.

“WHAAAAA?” Yugo yelled. “You don’t know what the Friendship Cup is?!”

“Well, I...I guess I know about it but Divine never thought that it would be a good idea for me to participate in it,” Akiza answered. “I just know whoever wins it gets to rule the city. And I never thought the two of you would enter it.”

“Why not?” Yugo asked.

“You’re...young..er…”

“Well yeah, but we’re good,” Rin said with a grin. “Ever since duelists from the Commons won, it became our dream to leave the life we’ve had and win the throne.”

“But I heard that those kings are very strong.” 

“Oh yeah, really strong,” Yugo said with an excited nod. “Doesn’t stop us from trying.” 

“These kings...who are they?”

“Wait you never heard of Jack Atlas, Yusei Fudo or The Enforcers?!”

“Not really, the Arcadia movement keeps to themselves. We just want to gather duelists with powers who were ostracized and alone, so that they can have a home.”

Rin raised her eyebrow. “And the Kings of Synchro never got Divine’s attention or something?”

“I don’t think so; they never seemed that important to Divine, or at least for me to worry about. I know they’re the kings but not where they came from or why.”

“They’re from the Commons but not a lot of people know what went on. Just that the current king beat the previous king up and then started making things better for us.” 

“That’s … good, so they’re good people huh?” Akiza asked. 

“Well, some of the Tops don’t like them,” Yugo sighed. “They still can’t hold onto the views on how they were still better because they had everything and that the Commons did nothing to deserve a share of the wealth.” 

“The Tops like to be entertained by our suffering. The Friendship Cup is, in truth, a way to remind the Tops that they will always be in control and they’re also just as fickle to turn on those who they used to worship,” Rin elaborated. “Well, that _was_ the case. Both the Friendship Cup and the tournament we’re both in are also made to keep us Commons from climbing up the ladder of success, the one we’re in don’t amount to much except recognition and money, while the idea of the Friendship Cup is to give Commons a chance only to yank it from under them and punish them for even trying.” 

“The Council and the Head of Security didn’t think Commons could win this, I bet they were pretty surprised when two of them won,” Yugo said, just imagining what happened when they realized their “puppet” wasn’t going to play its part.

“And even more surprised when the second one tore down their control and system. You see the Commons are all truly on the Enforcers’ side, they helped protect and keep commons safe from Sector Security, and as long as the Tops are entertained by great duelists then they will be by the Enforcers’ side,” Rin continued. 

“So why even try if there are already good people on the throne?” Akiza asked. 

“Because why should we accept what Lady Fate dealt us?” Rin asked. “If we have a chance to win this, no matter how small, to make our lives better, why shouldn’t we take it? We’d never know unless we succeed. No one in the Commons knew that one of them could change the natural state of things until the Enforcers did. We’re not gonna sit on the sidelines when we can do better. If there’s one thing the Enforcers inspire, it’s hope. Hope that no matter where you are, or the obstacles you face you can rise up and gain what you deserve. ” 

Akiza paused. Hope...she never felt that before. Sure, Divine gave her a home, but something about it made her feel quite empty as if she had a cup that she could pour the entire ocean in and it would never be quite full.

“Now come on then, don’t you wanna duel?” Yugo asked.

“Oh..yeah, that’s right…” said Akiza, so enthralled by Rin’s story that she completely forgot why they were here in the first place.

“Yahoo!” Yugo shouted. “I can’t wait for our dragons to duke it out into battle!”

Akiza’s smile was a little nervous. She hoped she could either end the duel quickly, or at least not scare Yugo enough to have him run away. 

“Alright, ready?” Yugo asked as the two of them stood across each other. 

“Yeah,” Akiza nodded, activating her Duel Desk. She never really dueled like this, a part of her only dueled for power, as a test of strength. But Yugo was just so full of energy that it would break her heart if she showed him what she could really do.

“Hey, don’t hold back now, I really wanna see our Dragons okay?” Yugo said. “You can go first.”

“R-really?”

“Yeah, I mean it’s polite to let ladies go first and all! Plus I really wanna see you in action!” 

Akiza honestly felt naked in front of Yugo and Rin. Whenever she dueled, it was always with her mask on, and a cloak to invoke the image of a witch of old. But she didn’t have that on here; she couldn’t really befriend them if she didn’t show her true face.

" _What’s wrong with you, Akiza? Why not show your pretty little face to the crowd?”_

That boy’s words stung in her mind. Did he not know what happened to her? Why she had no choice but to put on that mask to the world? That all of these people taunted her, mocked her, called her names and didn’t care for the lonely soul who only wanted someone to love her?

“You can do it Akiza!” Rin shouted, waving towards the Black Rose Witch. “Don’t be afraid, okay? And Yugo give it your best!”

There was Rin, being so optimistic and peppy even though Akiza barely even knew her or hardly even cared for her. Maybe it was okay to open herself to people...if only for the sake of Divine’s mission.

“Okay then, I’ll start!” Akiza said, drawing a card. 

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Armstrong entered his dingy and rather messy apartment. At least he remembered to open the window to let some fresh air in. Last time he forgot to do that, it took him forever to make it to his bedroom to rest due to how horrible the air was.

The only part of the apartment that wasn’t messy was his computer desk. It had all his files stacked in the corner, the table was dusted every now and then and the trash can underneath was actually emptied when it got too full. Why Armstrong was so diligent in cleaning that particular spot -- and okay the kitchen was made to be clean so that the smells from leftover trash didn’t cause complaints from his neighbors -- was beyond him, but he was glad that it was.

Armstrong turned his laptop on and began logging in to the Sector Security database. Somewhere within these old files -- files that haven’t been updated ever since he got fired -- was a hint, a clue. What did Xavier -- no wait _Carly_ as he remembered doing a search on that username Xavier gave him when they exchanged numbers yesterday -- say about that card Randsborg drew? Fortune Lady _Past_.

Oh right, something about uncovering the past, secrets being discovered and things like that. He wasn’t really sure how a card could lead them to these types of things, but he had just seen crazier things a day before and Trudge wanting him kicked out of the mental hospital meant that _something_ was kept hidden..

Armstrong spent the next hour or so combing through each and every profile on hand. If there was one thing Armstrong was good at, was that he could remember a face, especially ones who were tattooed. No two tattoos were the same, so if you drew a tattoo on a napkin for him then he could recall the person it was stamped on.

But a face didn’t necessarily mean he knew what they could do. There were hundreds of prisoners in the Facility, and he only came in when the more unruly prisoners were a hassle. Plus it had been a long time since he worked there, and many of those prisoners were now free.

“This is getting me nowhere!” Armstrong said, slamming his fist on the table. “How am I supposed to uncover the past if I don’t even know how far into it I’m searching for?!”

“CAW!!!”

Armstrong turned to see that a crow landed on his stack of files. Oh this must’ve been Fate’s way of playing a joke.

“Shoo! Shooo!!!” Armstrong said, swatting the crow away with the back of his hand. The crow, as if mocking him, flew out from the window and his large hand knocked the stack of files onto the ground, scattering them everywhere. 

“Oh great,” Armstrong muttered, leaning down and began searching through the files and sorting the papers by name. He never actually read the files, but just took them so it looked like he was going to. How and why he maintained a clean workspace was beyond him, but at least it’s better than finding food-stained papers all the time.

As he reached for an open file, he saw that it showed the face of an elderly man with a yellow diamond mark under his right eye. His name was quite a peculiar one.

_Tenzin Yanagi_.

Yanagi...Yanagi...Armstrong closed his eyes, trying to remember what was so special about this kook. From what was said, he traveled a lot and was into artifacts from the…

….

It was if the universe expanded in his mind as he opened his eyes and read through the files three times. Tenzin Yanagi’s crimes were mostly about him smuggling treasures into the city, and his precious deck were all about artifacts from the past that, while they looked pathetic, could hit you with a lot of damage if you knew how to play them right (which Yanagi didn’t, thank goodness, it took Kalin Kessler using them in order to beat him.)

It was then that he read through some reports that some previous officers mentioned. Yanagi was somehow in the same cell as Kallin and Crow when they got arrested seven years ago, and mentioned that he was on the search for some legendary dragon that appeared in his dreams. A dragon which, coincidentally, was colored _crimson_ …

Oh, so it seemed as if Lady Fate was being kind today! He owed Carly a big favor for this.

“This is it! This is the one I’ve been searching for!” Armstrong said, grinning as he began taking photos of everything on his phone. “What are even the odds?” he cackled with glee, grinning widely. “Get ready old man, cause I’m about to find your ass, and you better have some answers for me. And Trudge can go kiss my ass when I show him this!” 

Armstrong then looked at the time on his watch. It was already close to lunch time, and he had no idea where the old man would be at this hour.

Then Armstrong saw one tiny note in Yanagi’s profile. _“If the old man is to have his last meal, he requested that it would’ve been oden, which reminded him of harsh winters that he spent away from his home, dreaming of fishcakes, deep fried-tofu and daikon radish boiling in a soy-sauce broth.”_

Armstrong smirked as he began to search online for the nearest oden stands and perhaps see if the old man had a blog about his travels. 

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

**(Akiza:8000)..................................(Yugo:8000)**

“Go Yugo! Go Akiza!” Rin cheered, sitting on a small yet sturdy wall, as Yugo and Akiza stood across from each other with their duel disks activated ready for a great duel. 

Akiza took a deep breath before letting it out and looked at her hand. She had heard that Yugo duels with something called ‘Speedroids’, but she had never faced that deck before. She has no idea what’s in store for her, so she better be safe and start strong. Get the dragons in, make sure that whatever he had couldn’t pierce through her defenses and win. Easy. For one thing she was sure Speedroids weren’t plant monsters, so why not start with limiting the monsters he summons?

“I’ll start with activating the Field Spell White Rose Cloister!” Akiza said placing the card in the Field Zone slot. Soon the factory transformed into an outdoor garden with a smooth stone pathway and beautiful white roses in bloom. Rin looked at a white rose blooming by her side and plucked it, placing it in her hair. 

“Pretty!!!!” Yugo said. It was like seeing all those roses in the parks of the Tops, where people could see them bloom. He had also wanted to buy a bouquet of roses for Rin’s birthday, just to surprise her with the type of beauty Commons would not get to see. 

Akiza had to smile at the way the two of them reacted, happily and without a single aversion or fear to the field being solid or real. Then she frowned; she had to end this duel quick so that the two of them wouldn’t be scared of her. 

“And now I summon Twilight Rose Knight in attack mode!”

From within a collection of brambles and briars, the purple armored knight with cyan hair emerged, unsheathing his sword. (1300 ATK)

“And since I summoned him I can take a Level 4 or lower Plant monster from my hand and Summon it, so come on up Botanical Girl!”

From the ground rose a strange plant...or rather it was a woman whose body was a plant girl with a green and red leaf dress for a body, a beautiful woman’s face and a head that looked made from pink rose petals. (300 ATK)

“Now with My Level 3 Twilight Rose Knight and my level 3 Botanical Girl, I Synchro summon a monster!”

“A Level Six monster, huh? No dragons yet,” Rin said with a smile. “This should be really interesting.”

Twilight Rose Knight grabbed onto Botanical Girl’s hand as they flew into the sky. Twilight Rose Knight transformed into three rings while Botanical Girl became three white stars.

**(3* + 3* = 6*)**

_“Pain and blood spill by your hands to all who trespass in your domain! Synchro Summon Level 6, Spread your Might Queen of Thorns!”_

Yugo and Rin watched in awe at the Plant Synchro who appeared. It was a beautiful woman sprouting from a large vine, who wore a dress with a black bodice decorated by leaves on the top of it, and a red skirt made of petals with small green vines decorating it. Her left hand looked like a red head of a carnivorous plant while the other was covered with green leaves, and from her back sprouted more plants and green flowers, closed and open. (2200 ATK) 

“Whoa…” Yugo said.

“She’s pretty,” Rin said, looking at the new summoned monster. In a way, it reminded her of someone...perhaps a girl she saw in her dreams.

“My Queen is both beautiful and deadly,” said Akiza. “Now every time a non-Plant monster is summoned from our hands, we lose 1000 lifepoints!”

“Haah?!” Yugo yelled. “But that’s like every monster in my deck!”

Rin giggled. “So you basically just crippled Yugo’s swarming strategy.”

“I did?” Akiza asked, looking back at Rin. 

“Yep, I guess you’ve never faced Speedroids before. Let me tell ya they look silly, but they’re fast in getting out monsters. Hence the word ‘Speed’ in their name.”

“Rinrin, leave some surprises!” Yugo called. 

Rin giggled. “Well you have to be careful now sweetie! Don’t just rush in or you’ll get burned quick!” 

“I know that!” Yugo pouted with a small blush on his face at being called ‘Sweetie’. “I got enough burn damage fighting all your Windwitches, at this point any duel that doesn’t have that in it is a blessing.” 

It made Rin giggle again, and Yugo pouted even more. 

Akiza couldn’t help having a smile of her own, the two of them were adorable. “Alright, now thanks to my Botanical Girl, since she was sent from the field to the graveyard, I get to choose one Plant monster with a 1000 or less Defense Points and add it to my hand...and I choose Glow Up Bulb!” Akiza said, grabbing the card from her deck and showing it to Yugo. 

“Finally I place one card face down, I end my turn.” 

“Right then, it’s my turn!” said Yugo, drawing his card but didn’t like what he just drew. Like Rin said, he couldn’t swarm the field. He had to be careful, but he knows with that Queen of Thorns Akiza summoned he’ll be losing at least 2000 points this turn, ugh he had to get rid of her right now! “Okay! Since I have no monsters on my field, I get to Special Summon Speedroid Terrortop from my hand!” 

Slithering onto the field was a long trail of ten red tops spinning around, sounding like the sibilant voice of a snake. Attached to the sides were two curved blades that looked ready to slice Queen of Thorns into a tossed salad. (1200 ATK) 

Akiza had to blink at the monster that just appeared, it looked like… a collection of toys? Rin was right: they do look silly, and she wondered what they could really do.

“Since you summoned a non-plant monster, my Queen of Thorns take 1000 Life points from you.” 

Whips of thorns sprang out from the Queen’s back and flew towards Yugo, circling him, and scratching him. Yugo waited for when one would strike, but then a thorn lashed at his leg, causing him to gasp and fall to his knees. Akiza and Rin had to wince. 

“Yugo!” Rin called. 

“Gah!” Yugo said, shaking his head and standing up. He didn’t look like he was in too much pain as he added, “You know what Rinrin I really do prefer your witches, they’re gentle.” 

“Yeah well, they really like you,” Rin said with a smile. 

Akiza tensed as Yugo turned back to her, but blinked as his smile never left his lips, now actively grinning at Akiza even though Yugo had now lost a thousand lifepoints.

**(Yugo: 7000) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- (Akiza: 8000)**

“Now since Terrortop was summoned I get to take one ‘Speedroid’ from my deck and add it to my hand, and I choose Red Eyed Dice!” Yugo said, grabbing the card and showing it to Akiza before playing it. “Now here comes my Normal Summon! Appear Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice!” 

Floating in the air next to Terrortop was a large golden die, with its pips being red marks. The side that had a sole pip was a large eye with a crimson pupil staring at Akiza. (100 ATK)

“And again, another 1000 lifepoints gone,” said Akiza.

Queen of Thorns summoned another whip of thorns with a wave of her hand. It flew towards Yugo’s side, this time getting him under his knee. 

**(Yugo: 6000) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- (Akiza: 8000)**

“Ow!” Yugo complained. “You know I’d ask you to be less territorial, your highness. But honestly, I have Clear Wing, so I got no place to talk.” 

“True,” Rin commented, making Akiza blink. It felt like Yugo was talking about his monster, but on a more personal level. Akiza looked back at her monster only to see the Queen of Thorns trying to fight off a small smile. Akiza gasped and shook her head, preferring not to think about it too much.

“Now I tune my Level 1 Red Eyed Dice and my Level 3 Terror Top, to Synchro Summon!”

The two Speedroids floated into the air as Red-Eyed Dice became one ring and Terror Top became a cluster of three white stars to pass into the rings.

**(3*+ 1*= 4*)**

“ _Multiple pieces come together to form a new image! Synchro Summon Level 4 Hi-Speedroid Puzzle!”_

The Puzzle looked like a tiny man colored blue and green made out of plastic with a pyramid for a head, a yellow hoop around his waist, a gatling gun for a right hand and a sharp blade for a left hand. (1300 ATK) Akiza’s first thought was how the heck this monster was going to stop her Queen of Thorns. The second thought was what other type of Synchro monsters Yugo utilized. 

“And since Puzzle isn’t from my hand, but rather my Extra Deck, I don’t lose a single life point,” Yugo said with a grin.

“Yep!” Rin called from her place on the small wall. 

Akiza raised her eyebrow; well Yugo wasn’t wrong about that. “Well that’s fine, but you do realize it’s weaker than my Queen, right?” 

Yugo’s grin widened. “Not for long! When we battle, Puzzle’s attack doubles at the damage step!!” 

Akiza’s eyes widened in realization. “Oh…” 

“Yep! Now Puzzle go! Attack the Queen of Thorns.”

Hi-Speedroid Puzzle jumped up and prepared to fire a round of shots from his right hand at the Queen, his attack points rising to 2600. The Queen of Thorns wasn’t too shocked, neither was Aki.

“I activate my Trap Card Wall of Thorns! If you attack a Plant-type monster then your monster gets destroyed instead.”

“Uh-oh…” Yugo said as a giant wall of thorns sprung up from the ground blocking the Queen of Thorns and Akiza from the attack. The vines extended and wrapped around the Speedroid Puzzle tearing it to pieces and destroying it. 

Yugo winced but kept his cool. “Since Speedroid Puzzle was sent from the field to the graveyard I get to take back one Speedroid monster from my graveyard and I choose Speedroid Red-Eye Die,” Yugo explained, taking the card back to his hand.

“I place one card face down and end my turn,” Yugo said, placing a card in the slot on the Duel Disk.. 

Akiza closed her eyes and let out a breath. This is it, this is where Yugo loses and she ends the duel. 

Rin looked at Akiza, then at the Queen of Thorns and back at Yugo. She smiled. Yugo had no poker face at all. He wasn’t confident or bluffing at all; whatever Akiza had next he knew he could counter it. 

“I draw!” Akiza said and drew her card. Well at least she is going to end this duel quickly before Yugo is scared of her or have Rin hate her. “First, I summon White Rose Dragon!”

With an adorable roar, a small white dragon with blue eyes and black and white scales that form around her neck like a rose appeared and yawned. (1200 ATK) 

Yugo took a breath and stopped himself from squeaking out loud, but he couldn’t help but make small excited noises. 

“SHE’S SO CUTE!” Yugo yelled, jumping up and down on the balls of his feet. “Can I have her? Can I have her? Rinpleaseletmehaveher!!!!”

Rin laughed. “She’s not mine to give.” 

Yugo shouted, waving his arms about. “Aki, can I have her? Pleasepleaseplease?????”

White Rose Dragon made a little yelping noise, her tail swishing around. This newcomer was strange. Very strange to want to cuddle with her. 

Akiza laughed, not noticing the nickname from Yugo. “Sorry Yugo, you can’t have her.”

Yugo made a broken noise, pouting. “She’s so cute and pretty, though! I just wanna hug her so badly.”

Akiza’s face lit up...but then she remembered something as Queen of Thorns readied her thorns. On _her_.

Queen of Thorns slapped Akiza’s back but there was a smirk on her lips as she did.

**(Yugo: 6000) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- (Akiza: 7000)**

Akiza glared at the queen but stood up and smiled. 

“If you think one’s cute, how about another one? Next, since White Rose Dragon was Normal Summoned I get to summon another one from my graveyard or my hand and I’ll summon Red Rose Dragon!”

Another dragon the same size as White Rose Dragon appeared, but with bright red roses on its body. (1000 ATK) 

Yugo squealed once more, especially as Red Rose Dragon purred and nuzzled his sister. Hearts appeared in Yugo’s eyes as he just wanted to end the duel right now so he could just scoop the dragons into his arms, hop on his D-Wheel and take them to his and Rin’s home where he’d cuddle, pet and feed them to their hearts’ content.

Rin giggled, knowing exactly what Yugo was thinking. She really wondered sometimes why Yugo’s deck wasn’t a pure dragon one before blinking a flash of memory of a silver and green haired boy playing around with his beloved dragons in a big green field. One of them was Clear Wing Synchro Dragon, whom the silver-haired boy smiled and stroked their scales. 

But Rin was awoken from this vision when she heard how Aki got struck by the Queen’s thorns once more and groaned in pain. 

**(Yugo:6000) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- (Akiza: 6000)**

“Are you okay?” Rin called to Akiza.

“Yeah don’t worry, nothing I haven’t felt before,” she said with a smile before she realized that even through the Queen’s attacks Rin and Yugo were still there, unafraid, and wanting to know if she was okay. It was strange to her, the lack of fear, and this tender kind of care with nothing to gain. It felt amazing. 

But back to the duel. “Sorry Yugo, you’re gonna have to say goodbye to the dragons.”

“No~” Yugo whined pouting profoundly, just wanting to play with these adorable dragons. 

“Sorry, but it’s time to get big sister out,” Akiza declared. 

“Wait...big sister?” Yugo asked. 

“Here she comes!” Rin said with a smile and Yugo’s grin widened, he couldn’t wait to see the dragon.

“I tune my Level 4 White Rose Dragon and my Level 3 Red Rose Dragon to Synchro Summon!”

The dragons flew into the air, repeating the act they did the day before against the Fabled duelist with Red Rose Dragon becoming three green circles and White Rose Dragon turning into four stars.

**(*4 + *3 = *7)**

" _Chilling flames engulf the entire world. Pitch-dark flower, set into bloom! Synchro Summon! Level 7! Bloom Black Rose Dragon!”_

From a large rose on the field, the legendary Black Rose Dragon, where Akiza’s moniker of “Black Rose Witch” came from emerged, pink eyes glaring at Yugo as she opened her mouth to roar. (2400 ATK)

Yugo gasped as Black Rose Dragon rose to the field and roared, her whips flying everywhere hitting the ground. “She’s beautiful…”

“And dangerous,” Akiza said. 

“I bet! Look at you,” Yugo said. “Powerful and Amazing just like your Lady…” Yugo’s eyes widened as he looked at the Dragon again and everything clicked. “Black Rose Dragon!” he gasped. “You’re the Black Rose Witch!”

“Y-yeah, I am.” Akiza said with a nod, afraid as to how Yugo would react. The minute people knew who she was, the first thing they did was scream and the second thing they would do was call her a monster.

“This is….so amazing!” Yugo shouted. “I’m really dueling the Black Rose Witch, that’s so cool!”

Akiza smiled and Black Rose Dragon roared. Yugo’s grin widened as the dragon’s whips swatted him playfully and he laughed. 

“This is so cool. I wish I had a camera!” 

Akiza didn’t know whether that was sincere or mocking, but she could believe it was the former. “Now since my white Rose Dragon was used as a Synchro Summon I get to send one monster from my deck to the graveyard and I choose the Plant monster Snapdragon.”

“Oh another dragon...wait he’s a plant?” Yugo asked.

“Yep, and here’s his effect, when he is sent to the graveyard I get to choose one card in your hand and banish it until the end of my turn!”

“Wait what?!” Yugo yelled, seeing a small dragon with green scales grinning at him. “Oh no…”

“That’s right, and I choose the third one on the right,” Akiza said pointing at the card.

Snapdragon flew towards Yugo’s hand and struck the card Akiza chose. Yugo sighed as he took the card and removed it from play. 

“Next, since Red Rose Dragon was used in a Synchro summon I get to summon a ‘Rose Dragon’ from my hand or Deck, so come on out Blue Rose Dragon!”

The serpentine blue Rose Dragon appeared, tilting his head at Yugo. (1600 ATK)

“Awe, he’s so cute!” Yugo cooed. “Look at those pretty blue scales!” 

Blue Rose Dragon purred and Akiza had to laugh at that. Yugo has been showering her dragons with praise so much that she could imagine the dragons tackling him and licking his face after the duel ended. She took a breath and looked at Yugo seriously. 

“I’m sorry, but It’s time to end this,” she said. “Now my monsters attack you directly!” 

Blue Rose Dragon and Black Rose Dragon narrowed their eyes as they prepared their attacks, opening their mouths to unleash a small blue and large pink fireball respectively, and Queen of Thorns readying her own thorny whips. Yugo grinned and Rin smirked knowing what’s coming next. 

“I activate Speedroid Menko’s effect! If I’m attacked directly I get to summon it from my hand and all your monsters turn to defense mode!”

“What?!”

Appearing on the field was a strange rectangle with gears inside and each corner of the rectangle spewed fire. It flew towards the dragons, causing them to crouch in Defense Mode. (Black Rose Dragon: 1800 DEF, Blue Rose Dragon: 1200 DEF,Queen of Thorns:1800 DEF Menko: 2000 DEF)

“Oh yeah, the duel continues!” said Yugo. “You can’t possibly think it was that easy right?” 

Akiza’s eyes widened.

“Now I might take another 1000 damage, but it’s worth it don’t you think?”

Queen of Thorns slashed at his side as he said that making him wince, but he still grinned. 

**(Yugo:5000) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- (Akiza: 6000)**

Akiza sighed. “I end my turn there, which means your card that I banished returns. Make your move, Yugo.”

“Yeah! Go Yugo!” Rin yelled from the sidelines as Yugo retrieved his banished card. “You can do it!”

Yugo blushed and rubbed the back of his head. “My turn! I draw!” Yugo yelled and grinned as he saw the card. “First I play the Spell Card, Shock Surprise! Now I can banish up two ‘Speedroid’ monsters from my graveyard to destroy that many monsters. For this, I’ll banish Speedroid Terrortop so I can destroy your Queen of Thorns!”

“Wait what?!” Akiza gasped, seeing the Spell Card of a monster electrocuted through a pair of crosshairs.

Yugo pulled out Speedroid Terrortop from his graveyard as Shock Surprise generated a powerful surge of electricity. Queen of Thorns’ eyes widened as several shock bolts descended on her and destroyed her. 

Akiza frowned. “Now that you destroyed my plant monster outside the damage step, I get to Special Summon Rose Girl from my hand.”

She looked like a small fairy girl, riding a rose like a broomstick with a bit of green stem and rose petals as her hair, a green tube top connected with strings to her neck, and a small skirt of flower pearls along with green thigh high boots. )600 DEF)

“Cool but that Queen is gone, let me show you what my deck can _really_ do!” Yugo grinned.

“Wait, if you have a card like that then why didn’t you destroy Black Rose Dragon?” asked Akiza, not understanding the logic. Destroying Queen of Thorns was smart, but getting rid of Black Rose Dragon would also have been the logical move.

Yugo actually looked a little offended at that, it made Rin giggle. “I’m not gonna destroy a dragon like Black Rose by a spell card effect! No way! I wanna show you my awesome dragon so we can have an epic clash! Haven’t you ever wanted one like that before?” 

“I guess… I never thought of it really…” Akiza said.

“Now that’s what we’re doing!” Yugo declared. 

“Get ready! There’s gonna be a lot of special summoning involved now~” Rin warned and Yugo grinned wider. 

“You showed me your pretty Dragon, now it’s time to show you mine,” Yugo said. “But first things first, since I have a WIND monster on the field, I get to Special Summon Speedroid Carturbo from my hand!“

Another monster that looked like a rectangular toy appeared, it was white and red and from its center rose the top of an engine with a blue rectangular top with two small lightning bolts on it (800 ATK)

“And that’s not the only monster I’m summoning! Because of the same condition I get to Special Summon Speedroid Taketomborg!”

It looked like an action figure of a bug with a blue head and body, big eyes and two yellow antennas on its head with yellow screws on both the side of its lower body and yellow and orange legs and arms. (600 ATK) 

“Now I use Taketomborg’s ability. I get to tribute it and Special Summon a Tuner monster from my deck! So make way for Speedroid Tri - Eyed Dice.”

Taktetomborg vanished and Akiza’s eyes widened at the strange die that appeared: blue like a pyramid but with a red eye glaring at her like with the other Red-Eyed Dice. She knew that whatever Yugo was summoning was going to be deadly. (300 ATK)

“Now then, it’s time! First, I’ll tune both my Level 3 Speedroid Carturbo and Tri-Eyed Dice together!”

The two Speedroid monsters flew into the air, one turned into three rings and one turned into a trifecta of white stars. 

**(*3 + *3 = 6)**

_“Magical sword with the form of a cross. Use your power to rend all enemies! Synchro Summon, Level 6 Hi-Speedroid Kendama!”_

Riding onto the field was a violet vehicle that looked similar to a cross and mallet formed together with four spikes on its tires and two black half-orbs on each side. (2200 ATK)

“And I’m just getting started,” Yugo grinned. “Now remember that I haven’t Normal Summoned yet, so I summon Speedroid Red Eyed Dice once more, and this time I’ll use its ability on Speedroid Menko and turn it from a Level 4 to a Level 6.”

Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice appeared again and rolled until its front face had six pips. Then, two more stars hoved above Speedroid Menko. (LV: 4 -) 6)

“And guess what? I’m gonna tune my Level 1 Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice with my Level 6 Speedroid Menko! Ready, Akiza?”

Akiza paused but then quickly got out of it. “I’m ready Yugo!”

“Then let’s go!!!” Yugo shouted as his two monsters flew into the sky. Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice turned into a green ring and Speedroid Menko now became six white stars.

**(*1 + *6 = *7)**

_“Spread those wondrous and beautiful wings. Strike down our enemies at light speed! Synchro Summon! Come forth!Synchro Summon! Level 7! Rise Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!”_

With a roar, a beautiful silver dragon with black stripes on the tail, four glass wings and a cyan horn jutting from its head emerged, strong and brave like Yugo. (2500 ATK)

Clear Wing nuzzled Yugo affectionately and purred at being able to battle side-by-side.

“Okay, okay!” said Yugo. “Good to see you! We have some new friends! Akiza, meet Clear Wing! Clear Wing, meet Akiza and her Rose Dragons!”

Clear Wing looked back at the field and gave a roar of greeting at the monsters they're facing, before looking around and looked at Rin looking at her curiously. Clear Wing softly growled a name which got Yugo's attention, making him raise his eyebrow. Who the heck was “Ray”?

He looked back at Rin with the name Ray in mind, feeling his heart skip a beat, as he saw a Rin with different colored hair and eyes. He blinked a few times not understanding where that image had come from.

Meanwhile, it looked like Black Rose Dragon was...enamored by the stranger. Such pretty scales, the beautiful wings, those sharp teeth!

“Black Rose Dragon?” Aki asked, confused. “Are you...okay?”

Black Rose Dragon’s wings unfurled as her thorns were waving about and she roared happily, wanting to just fly towards Clear Wing.

"I think Black Rose likes Clear Wing!" Rin said with a giggle.

"Daawwww, that's cute!" Yugo cooed.

“C-cute?” Akiza repeated. She heard Black Rose be called different things. “Terrifying”, “Monstrous”, “Deadly”, but never _cute_.

Blue Rose Dragon looked at Clear Wing and looked quite shy. He hid his face behind Black Rose Dragon, not wanting to look at Clear Wing just laughing at him.

"Yeah, someone is having a crush~" Rin teased. 

“A… a crush?” Akiza repeated. That never happened before. The thought of it is quite strange to her, she couldn’t exactly compute it. Was it possible for duel monsters to show signs of affection?

“Well, we’ll solve these things when we’re done here, now back to the duel,” Yugo said. “I use Kendama’s effect and banish Speedroid Taketomborg so that you take 500 points of damage.”

A glowing orb of light hovered over the head of Hi-Speedroid Kendama before it was hurled towards Akiza’s duel disk.

**(Yugo: 5000) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- (Akiza: 5500)**

Akiza winced at the small shock, and looked back at Yugo who was smirking. 

“Next Kendama, attack Rose Girl! Sorry little one~” Yugo said as Kendama sent a beam of light at the little monster in defense mode. “Oh and by the way, Kendama delivers piercing damage.”

Hi-Speedroid Kendama raced towards Rose Girl and without mercy, ran over her as the little girl screamed.

**(Yugo: 5000) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- (Akiza: 3900)**

“Now Clear Wing, destroy...Blue Rose Dragon!” Yugo chose, pointing at the smaller Dragon.

Clear Wing looked at Blue Rose Dragon with a look of pity before opening her mouth and firing a whirlwind of energy that disintegrated him. Akiza covered her face from getting any dirt on her from the attack. 

“Wrong choice!” said Akiza. “Since you destroyed Blue Rose Dragon, I get to summon either “Black Rose Dragon” or a plant monster from my Graveyard, so welcome back Queen of Thorns!” 

“Aw, her again?!” Yugo winced unconsciously, making Clear Wing growl at the Queen. Queen of Thorns didn’t care at all as she was ready to lash out her thorns at the dragon. Yugo sighed. “Whatever, I end my turn,” he said with a grin. 

“My turn,” Akiza said as she looked at her lifepoints. Now Yugo was ahead of her and she only put a dent in him because of the Queen. In a one on one fight Black Rose Dragon couldn’t take Clear Wing on, meaning she had to get rid of him...her… Akiza wasn’t sure, but she knew at least a way to do it. 

Akiza smiled. “Now before I draw, I activate White Rose Cloisters’ effect! I can try to predict what type of card I’ll draw -- Spell, Trap or Monster, and if I’m correct then my Level 7 or higher Synchro Monsters get a 1000 Attack boost.”

Yugo whistled. “Betting on luck, huh? Alright let’s see it then!” 

Akiza nodded her head as she looked at her deck. She had heard that some duelists were capable of actually seeing cards -- as in what they looked like on the other side without turning them over -- but she didn’t need them for this. Akiza closed her eyes and made a prediction. “A Spell Card!” she proclaimed and drew the card. Akiza opened her eyes and grinned as she showed her new card, Pot of Greed, to Yugo.

Yugo laughed, eyes wide with amazement. “Nice guess!” 

Akiza grinned wider as Black Rose Dragon grew stronger, her attack score rising by 1000. “Next, I switch my Black Rose Dragon to attack mode”

Black Rose Dragon rose and let out another roar at Clear Wing as she became stronger. (3400 ATK)

“Then I play Pot of Greed, which gives me two new cards,” Akiza said and drew two more cards. Upon seeing what she drew, she smirked. “And I’m not showing off the strength of my dragon. I equip Black Rose Dragon with Thorn of Malice.”

“Uh-oh, that’s a bad card,” Rin muttered. She wasn’t actually worried though. She knew Yugo’s deck in and out; she knew he had more than one way to escape this. 

“Thorn of Malice gives 600 more attack points to Black Rose Dragon or to a Plant monster,” Akiza explained, the Spell Card being equipped to her Black Rose Dragon. “And she has some more other nasty effects too.”

More thorns wrapped around Black Rose Dragon’s body, boosting her strength even more. (3400 -) 4000 ATK)

“Wow! She got really strong!” Yugo yelled in excitement. 

“And that’s not all! Any monster that battles with Black Rose Dragon will not be destroyed, but will also lose 600 attack and defense points, not to mention that she can now dish out piercing damage!”

Yugo’s eyes widened. “That’s...not good.”

“Not at all!” Akiza said with a grin. “For you that is. I’m not done yet. I summon Glow Up Bulb from my hand, and since it’s a plant, I take no damage.”

The small bulb with the single eye appeared on the field. (100 ATK)

“Ahhh, no fair,” Yugo pouted. 

“Now, I tune my Level 6 Queen of thorns with my Level 1 Glow Up bulb!”

The two Plant monsters flew into the air, Glow-Up Bulb becoming a single green Synchro ring and Queen of Thorns became six white stars.

**(6*+ 1*= 7*)**

_“ Lofty rose that buds in a garden of integrity! Bloom here, watered by blue moonlight! Synchro Summon Level 7! Rise with the moon Black Rose Moonlight Dragon!”_

Then, Black Rose Dragon’s brother emerged, radiating in a soft pale yellow light. (2400 ATK)

“Oh, big mistake,” Rin said, laughing a bit. 

“Wahoo!” Yugo said. “Another pretty Dragon!” 

Clear Wing Synchro Dragon roared at the newcomer and Black Rose Moonlight Dragon was taken aback at this newcomer. It looked like he was also shy at this perky silver-scaled beauty. Akiza would have to think about it later, since Moonlight Dragon was ready to make Clear Wing retreat.

“Black Rose Moolight Dragon’s effect activates!” She said. “Once per turn if he or a Level 5 or higher monster on your side of the field is Special Summoned I get to return one Special Summoned monster to your hand!”

As Black Rose Moonlight Dragon’s effect activated, Akiza noticed Yugo not looking surprised or worried at all. Well, for one thing, that was because he was excited to see the dragons in action. He looked so happy and amazed by them, calling them beautiful. She wasn’t sure what to make of that but…

...Wait a second, what did Armstrong say about this dragon again?! 

_“It can negate the effects of a Level 5 or higher, or monsters whose effects target other monsters, destroy it and gain its attack points”_

…Oh no. she remembered, and there is no way to stop Black Rose Moonlight Dragon from activating his effect!

“I activate Clear Wing’s special effect!” said Yugo. “Once per turn, she can negate a monster’s effect and destroy it, then take it’s attack power as her own until the end of this turn!” 

Akiza gasped as the wings of Clear Wing seemed to absorb the moonlight around her Black Rose Moonlight Dragon before firing the light back at Akiza’s dragon, absorbing his attack strength. (2500 -) 4900 ATK)

Akiza looked shocked; how could she forget something so crucial? Doesn’t matter now, Yugo still left himself open.

“If I can’t fight your Dragon I’ll fight your other toy! Go Black Rose Dragon, attack his Hi-Speedroid Kendama!” 

Black Rose Dragon roared and fired a blast of pink fire at Hi-Speedroid Kendama, but Yugo didn’t seem too surprised.

“I activate Tri-Eyed Dice’s ability from my graveyard!” Yugo called. “If I banish it, I get to cancel one attack, so I’m stopping your Black Rose Dragon in her tracks!”

A spectral version of Tri-Eyed Dice appeared, blocking the attack before the fire faded away.

“Oh you have got to be kidding me!” Akiza exclaimed.

Yugo laughed, hands on his stomach at how exhilarating this was! 

“Woo!” Rin cheered 

Akiza looked at her hand and sighed, then looked at her monster. Black Rose Dragon was still standing strong and with 500 more attack points than Clear Wing next turn. She has not lost this yet. But there was still that the face-down card that Yugo still hasn’t used yet, curious…

“I place one card face down and end my turn.” said Akiza.

“My turn!” Yugo said, drawing a card he smiled. “I activate the spell card Hi-Speed Relevel!” He said placing the card in the slot. “Now I get to banish one monster from my graveyard and it’s level becomes Clear Wing’s level, then for every level on that card my monster gains 500 Attack points! For this, I’m gonna banish my Level 4 Speedroid Menko!”

Akiza’s eyes widened. “So that means…”

“Clear Wing’s attack becomes 4500!”

Yugo played his Spell Card showing three monsters -- Rock Ogre Grotto #1 on the left, Speedroid Tri-Eyed Dice in the center and Ghostrick Nekomusume on the right -- burning with orange energy. Yugo banished Speeroid Menko and Clear Wing roared as her attack became higher. (LV: 7 -) 4, 2500 -) 4500 ATK)

“Now Clear Wing! Attack Black Rose Dragon!” 

The two dragons growled at each other as Clear Wing flew towards Black Rose Dragon and attacked, whipping up a flurry of winds to defeat its target. 

“I activate the Trap Card, Impenetrable Attack!” Akiza shouted. “Now I can choose either to not gain damage on this turn or that none of my monsters get destroyed. And I choose to keep Black Rose Dragon alive!”

Yugo smiled. “But you still take the damage.”

Akiza braced herself, arm over her head as she saw the harsh winds fly past her safe from destruction Black Rose Dragon. With another roar Black Rose Dragon repelled Clear Wing back with a crack of her whip as Akiza looked at how low her lifepoints had become.

**(Yugo: 5000) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- (Akiza: 2400)**

“I end my turn,” Yugo said with a grin. “But man, you really had me going there!”

Then Aki remembered something. “Yugo, remember that Black Rose Dragon was equipped with Thorn of Malice, and since she wasn’t destroyed Clear Wing losses 600 ATK/DEF since they went into battle!” 

Yugo’s eyes widened and his face fell. “Oh no…”

Clear Wing Synchro Dragon growled in pain, her stats dropping. (2500/2000 -) 1900/1400) 

Akiza let out a breath; that was a close call. She already lost one dragon because she forgot what Clear Wing’s ability was; she did not want to lose her second. But it was alright, all she has to do is keep attacking Yugo’s Clear Wing. She’ll keep losing attack points and defense, and Aki can whittle down Yugo’s life points with that. Yeah it wasn’t quick, but at least it would grant her victory. She only had the Trap Card to take care of, and she didn’t need to fall in such an obvious one.

“I draw! And I declare… a Spell Card!” Aki said and took the card before smirking and showing it to Yugo. 

“Man, your predictions are on point!” Yugo said. “You must be Psychic or something...oh wait you are Psychic but you know what I mean!”

Akiza smirked. “Black Rose Dragon now has 1000 Attack points.” 

Black Rose once again roared as she grew stronger and Rin was quite unsure if Yugo would survive fighting her. (3000-) 4000 ATK)

“Next I play Mystical Space Typhoon so I destroy your face down card!”

“Whaaa?!” Yugo yelled as a small tornado appeared from the Quick-play Spell and destroyed his face down card. He swallowed as he realized what that meant. “...I’m in trouble…”

“Oh yes you are! Go! Black Rose Dragon, attack Clear Wing Synchro Dragon once more!”

Black Rose Dragon’s thorned whips wrapped themselves around Clear Wing slashing at her from every direction, Clear Wing roared in pain, and Yugo gritted his teeth as he lost more life points. 

**(Yugo: 2900) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- (Akiza: 2400)**

“And of course, Clear Wing is not destroyed but loses another 600 Attack and Defense points.” 

Clear Wing groaned tiredly as her attack was zapped from her again, becoming weaker (1900/1400 -) 1300/800)

“Come on Yugo! You can do it!” Rin yelled as Yugo panted. He stopped and smirked, he looked at Rin and nodded his head with a grin, giving her a thumbs up.

“My turn!” Yugo said, drawing a card and smirking. He laughed before looking at Black Rose Dragon. “I summon Speedroid Malicious Magnet!” 

Yugo’s next card rose. Again, it looked like a toy, with a blue cylinder for a body in its spherical head was a screw and on each side was a magnet as if they were the toy’s ears. (LV 1, 0 ATK)

“Holy shit!” Rin said and laughed . 

“A tuner? You’re gonna summon a stronger monster?” Akiza asked.

“Yep, but you know the best part? Well, worst for you?” He asked with a grin and Aki raised her eyebrow. “You see when Malicious Magnet is summoned to the field, I can use _your_ monster for the Synchro Summon.”

“What?!” 

Yugo’s smirk widened. “Yep so I use your Black Rose Dragon and my Malicious Magnet to Synchro Summon a brand new monster!”

“What?!” Akiza yelled as a white aura surrounded Black Rose Dragon as she groaned. “No!” 

The two monsters flew into the air as Malicious Magnet became one green ring and Black Rose Dragon was now seven white stars.

**(*1 + *7= *8)**

" _Mechanical Dragon with wings of destruction appear and strike away all your enemies in a hurricane of power! Synchro Summon! Level 8! Hi-Speeroid Kitedrake!”_

The stars expanded and a large serpentine figure emerged. It looked like a mechanical dragon, its body was made of white metal, part of the top of its head and ears were painted blue with several green wings all over its back in the shape of a kite, and a long white tail with white rings all over it, like the tail of one. (3000 ATK)

Akiza’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped as the monster flew down. She had no idea the Speedroid monsters had _that_ in their arsenal.

“Now Kitedrake! Attack directly!” 

With a roar and a swipe of its tail Kitedrake lashed out at Akiza, sending her flying back a few feet. Thankfully she was thrown just a few inches away from the wall.

**(Yugo: 2900) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- (Akiza: 0)**

Akiza fell down on her butt as her lifepoints reached zero, before lying down on her back for a moment, blinking in shock at the sky. Did she...did she really just _lose?_ To a deck of _toys!?_

“Woohoo, way to go Yugo!” Rin cheered and ran to Yugo to hug him, before giving him a quick kiss on his lips.

Yugo’s face went red, loving the kiss from Rin. After recovering from the kiss, the two walked towards Akiza to make sure she was okay.

“That was an amazing duel!” Rin said grinning. 

“Yeah, you were amazing! I can’t believe I beat the Black Rose Witch that’s so amazing!”

Akiza sat up, looking at the two smiling faces, she as well… had so much fun! She wasn’t looked at in fear, or hatred, she wasn’t called a monster (even though she’s pretty sure Yugo has some scratches to take care of), and she had loved the push and pull of the duel immensely and for once she really wished to do it again and again! 

“It was!” she told them both, grinning and smiling from ear to ear. “But I want a rematch, okay?”

“Yeah!” Yugo cheered, jumping up and Rin giggled. 

“So, what do you guys wanna do now?” Akiza asked, not sure what would be the next course of action. 

“Hmm…” Yugo thought but his stomach decided for him as it started to growl. He laughed and rubbed the back of his head. “Guess I’m hungry.”

Akiza and Rin giggled. Dueling does make you feel hungry after a while.

“Okay, how about I take you out to eat? My treat,” Akiza suggested. 

“Wait really?!” Yugo asked excitedly. 

“We can’t ask that of you though, we don’t wanna trouble you,” said Rin.

Akiza chuckled. “No trouble at all, I want to. Besides Yugo did beat me, that does call for a reward.” 

Both Rin and Yugo’s eyes widened and to Akiza’s shock they both hugged her tightly making her gasp, she didn’t dare move an inch so as to not make the hug stop, she… she really liked it.

“So where are we going?” Yugo asked, letting Akiza go.

“Hmm...well I know a nice place near Luna Park.”

“At the Tops?” Yugo asked, always seeing advertisements for discounts online and wondering what it’d be like to spend money on even one appetizer.“This would be amazing!” He yelled and ran to his D-Wheel. “Come on! What are we waiting for?!”

“Wait you can’t go looking like that!” said Akiza. “They have a strict dress code there. Do you have something more...Tops-like?”

“Nothing fancy, we really got...nothing to wear to something like that,” Rin said. 

“I can buy you something to wear,” Akiza suggested, much to Rin and Yugo’s surprise. 

“Akiza that’s a little... too much,” Rin protested. 

Akiza smiled and shrugged. “Not at all. I have the money, and I wanna do this for you two.” 

“Well we can...pay you back… it’ll take a lot of time though,” Yugo suggested. 

I said not to worry, it’s not like a couple of outfits would make a dent at all,” Akiza said with a wink. 

“I wanna do something nice for my friends.” 

Rin and Yugo smiled, still unsure but they agreed eventually, they probably wouldn’t get a chance like that again. The two girls rode on Rin’s D-wheel, and the three of them headed off.

As they rode through the streets Rin brought something up. “Hey Aki?” 

“Yeah?” Akiza answered, not minding Rin or even Yugo calling her that.

“Since you don’t know how to ride one, would you like to learn?”

“Wait me? R-ride a D-wheel?” Akiza asked, surprised.

“Yeah! Well, if you want.” 

“I…” Akiza wasn’t sure, Divine always said that the D-Wheel was dangerous, and that he couldn't afford having Akiza be hurt by trying to ride one, but… she really really enjoyed riding it, the wind going through her, the mix of colors and movement made her excited, even if she was scared. She looked at Yugo and Rin, two fourteen year olds, with ambition and drive to get what they want, not ready to settle for what they have but intend to reach for more, whereas she was content to do as Divine said to get his affection. Maybe she did want to learn, just to try it on her own. She smiled and nodded to Rin. “Yeah, I’d love to, when can we start?”

Rin grinned. “Whenever you want.” 

Akiza smiled and clutched into Rin’s stomach, bringing herself closer to the younger girl, as if giving her a hug of gratitude as they drove all the way to a shopping mall at the Tops. Once they parked the D-Wheels, Yugo and Rin felt like they were dreaming. Everywhere they looked, the shops, the products on display and even the floor of the mall looked as if they were made of gold. They sparkled as if Rin and Yugo were looking through a dream filter. 

Rin and Yugo gasped in delight at seeing all these neat and fancy shops around, selling all kinds of clothes, books, jewelry, make-up, electronics and much more. There were food stalls selling everything from pretzels to ice cream that Akiza had to drag away before they ruined their appetites. All the things that they saw on television and magazines right in front of them, begging to be bought. 

“This is _amazing_ ,” Yugo whispered in wonder, wanting to get his hands on anything and everything he could. All the stuff that he and Rin could afford was from second-hand shops. And even then they had to barter a lot in order to get them at an affordable price.

Rin shook her head as if to get out of a trance. “Let’s um...let’s just get something to...wear…” she trailed off as her eyes caught a shop that sold jewelry with a beautiful silver necklace on display. 

“I can buy you guys whatever you want ya know, don’t be shy,” said Akiza.

Rin turned to Akiza but stopped before she could ask her anything, she exchanged a look with Yugo, and sighed, giving Akiza a soft smile. The clothes and lunch would be amazing, a taste of the life they would eventually obtain. ”Thank you Aki. The clothes and food would be enough.” They couldn’t exactly afford to pay her back anything that she can give them, it’s better if they didn’t ask. 

“Are you sure? Like I said--”

“We’re sure,” Rin reaffirmed with a nod.

“Come on, I’m really getting hungry,” Yugo said grabbing Akiza’s arm, and taking Rin’s hand in his as the three of them headed for the shops. Akiza smiled widely, she just gained new friends, and she got to make them a little happier. She really had no trouble if they wanted to buy anything else, maybe giving them a few gifts wouldn’t be so bad. Her bank account was loaded -- one of the few benefits she had for working in the Arcadia Movement -- and she never really bought anything for herself before. 

It took a while to find something for Rin and Yugo, though the sneers from shop employees at their current attire didn’t help, but all Akiza had to do was show off her credit card and there wasn’t much of a protest from the workers there. Yugo and Rin were constantly going back to change into different clothes -- not helping is that they had a specific limit as to how many clothes they could take to the changing rooms at the time -- but they just couldn’t help it! It was like trying to pick out the best flavor of ice cream; so pretty and colorful but they could only choose one.

Yugo got a new outfit with black suit pants, a button up long sleeved dark blue shirt and a black vest. It made Rin gasp at how gorgeous Yugo can be. Rin on the other hand got a black dress with a fold top, the dress reached her knees, with an apple green velvet sash on her waist, and an equally green rose on the right side of her chest. It took everything from Yugo to not pin her to the wall and kiss her like he did that morning.

“You guys look _gorgeous_!” Akiza said happily, clapping her hands once. 

“I can’t believe we’re actually wearing these, and that we’re gonna buy them!” Yugo yelled before hugging Akiza again. “Thank you, thankyouthankyouthankyou!” 

Akiza laughed and wrapped her arms around Yugo giving him a squeeze of a hug. “Come on, let’s just go to the check out table and then we can head to eat.”

“Oh yeah food!” Yugo cheered again and Rin giggled. 

“So how much does all of this cost?” asked Rin.

…

…

…

“ _They’re how much?!_ ” Rin’s voice squeaked and her pupils shrunk as she looked at the bill for the new outfits. She almost wanted to whimper. This was more than enough money to pay for their electricity bills for four months!

Akiza simply signed the receipt. “Yeah, that’s the usual cost for these clothes around here.”

“That just sound like a fucking scam!” 

“The Tops can afford these things,” Yugo pointed out. 

Rin still looked at the bill with shaking hands almost as if she wanted to tear it in two. “Fuckers… Aki--”

“Nope, I told you not to worry about it, they’re gifts, end of story.” 

“But we--” Rin was cut off again as Akiza ushered them out. Yugo and Rin exchanged a look and the subject was dropped for now, as the three of them headed to a restaurant that Akiza loved, _The Shimmering Coral_. 

It felt so weird for Yugo and Rin to ride on their D-Wheels in their new outfits as Akiza pointed them to and reached a fancy looking building. Parking their D-Wheels to the side, the three entered the restaurant and were blown away at what they saw. The walls were decorated with seashells, starfishes and white pearls, the decor was colored blue with light blue swirls to represent ocean currents and the ceiling had pretty blue, green and purple stones. There were even multiple fishtanks holding what would be the main ingredients for many of the meals. 

Yugo, Rin and Akiza were seated at a table in the back, many of the other patrons at least twice or three times their age wondering why a bunch of kids were even eating at a place like this. But Yugo and Rin were debating on what to order to pay attention.

“Everything looks so good…” Yugo moaned, seeing the menu and the descriptions for all of the dishes. Even Rin’s eyes bulged out at the pictures in the menu and at names that she probably couldn’t pronounce as well as prices she could not pay. _Why was everything at the Tops so fucking expensive?!_

“I’ll order for you, don’t worry,” said Akiza, already knowing which items to ask the waiter. 

“You know, I could kiss you right now,” Rin said with a smile and Akiza laughed.

Yugo had no idea what to think, even as they were handed small plates of appetizers: salted peanuts, pickled radish and... _chicken feet_?! He wasn’t sure about that one, even after Akiza told them how to make a dipping sauce out of soy sauce, black wine vinegar, garlic and chili peppers.

"So Aki, tell us about you," Rin said, giving Akiza the chicken feet. "We don't really know much except you follow everything this Divine guy tells you."

"Well I'm just…” Akiza paused. “I’m...not really comfortable with talking about it. But Divine is a good friend of mine. I would have been all alone and lost if he hadn't came six years ago and brought me to the Arcadia Movement." 

"Okay… So...What's the movement about?" Yugo asked, tilting his head, changing the subject.

"Well," Aliza took a dumpling into her soup spoon. She nibbled at the side, forming a whole as broth spread out across the spoon. Yugo was glad he watched her do that before he swallowed his dumpling whole and became shocked at something pouring down his throat. "It's a safe haven and a school for Psychic Dulests, Dulests who have abilities like me, and other powers, people like that who are shunned by others can come and be a part of the movement. Divine wants me to be the face of it, to duel so I can spread the word," she explained.

"That sounds...nice," Yugo said. "At least people would know they're not alone."

Akiza smiled and nodded, feeling grateful for all that Divine has done for her and for other psychic children. That smile was still on her face even as the waiter brought in the wonton soup, the oyster omelette and a plate of lobster fried rice.

"And this Divine guy is a member or…"

"He's the leader of the movement. Would you two...like to visit it someday?"

"Really?" Rin asked, raising her eyebrows skeptically.

"Yeah, you're both welcome! Divine would like to see you, I'm sure."

"Me and Yugo?" Rin clarified.

"Yeah!" 

"Just one question, where would he know us from?" Rin asked, watching as their waiter poured the soup into three bowls. Was that really necessary? Rin could do it herself.

“Also why me? As far as he knows I don't have any powers," Yugo brought up. 

Rin was getting pretty suspicious of this Divine. Something inside of her was telling her to not trust him. He was a serpent, twisting words to suit his own tastes.

"Divine was part of the crowd, he saw Rin duel Professor Frank. And says you're really powerful and wants to meet you, and since Yugo was able to get you out of the trance he is very curious," Akiza explained. "What do you say?" She asked, eager. "Would you like to visit soon?"

Yugo and Rin exchanged a look. "We'll think about it," Rin replied and Akiza smiled widely.

“Oh thank you! You don’t know how much this means to me!”

Yugo and Rin smiled at her. Akiza was a delight -- and an adorable one at that, even though she was their senior -- and they were happy that they were getting to know her. She had given them so much and they had no idea how to repay her for it. 

The meal was the best one Rin and Yugo had in a long time. Every single dish was better than the last, particularly the “seafood birdnest” that was a bundle of noodles folded into a nest shape then deep fried, and then topped with vegetables, tofu, fish fillet and shrimp! Although, they remembered when the waiter arrived with the check how much all of this cost…

Akiza paid with the credit card and told them not to worry about it. Not even when she bought some steamed buns for Yugo and Rin’s breakfast tomorrow. Yugo was conflicted as to whether he wanted to eat a bun now or feel guilty that Akiza was spoiling them so much.

"It's my pleasure, really, I don't mind," Aliza said with a smile as they left the restaurant.

"We can give you a ride home," Rin said as it was getting a little late. She and Yugo needed to return back to their home before any of the Commons questioned why they looked like the Tops and decided to tear their clothes apart.

"I can just ask Divine to send someone," Akiza replied. 

"We _really_ don't mind," Yugo insisted. “I mean, if we drop you off at that Arcadia Movement then we know how to get their next time.”

Akiza smiled. "Yeah that's true. Okay then!" Akiza said, happily getting behind Rin after she and Yugo changed back to their riding outfits in the bathroom. Secretly she was happy that Rin and Yugo were doing this for her. She wanted to ride on a D-Wheel one more time, and she was _really_ happy that Rin had offered to teach her in the future.

Riding on a D-Wheel in the afternoon was much more magical than in the daytime. Much more colors blend together as the skies become darker, the wind a little cooler and the sun isn't as cruel. It becomes a much more majestic time to tell yourself that you’re alive and a time where you wish it didn’t have to end.

It took fifteen minutes, though Akiza felt like it was much shorter, for the three of them to reach the Arcadia Movment's building. Two students in teal and cerulean robes look at Yugo and Rin suspiciously, but back off when they see Akiza stepping off of Rin’s D-Wheel.

"See you guys tomorrow!" Akiza said, waving goodbye to the two of them. Yugo and Rin smiled and waved back before heading off.

Akiza headed inside humming happily to herself, a soft smile on her face for the first time in years as she practically skipped towards the elevator, nearly freaking out various Arcadia Movement personnel and students as they all thought the same thing.

_“What was the Black Rose Witch so happy about?”_ ****

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

“Mmm…” Yusei groaned, feeling something warm and comfortable under him. Breathing it in he smelt the familiar scent of one of his best friends and lovers, Jack. He could smell Jack’s favorite shampoo. Orange and lemons. A small smile stretched over his lips as he nuzzled into Jack’s chest, and he felt the other’s arm pull him closer. 

“Morning, my king,” Jack purred, running a finger down the mark down Yusei’s face. Yusei shivered both at gentle touch and how sensual Jack sounded calling him that. The only person Jack would ever consider above him was Yusei and despite that, Yusei was still gentle and kind unless he had to put it in Jack’s head that he’s being stubborn. 

It did start mostly as a joke, with Crow and Kalin starting to call him their king teasing him about his new status, even though to them he was still the same old Yusei. But he had never expected Jack to start doing it too; more than that, his tone was never teasing. It was filled with a gentleness that Jack only reserved for their “mother” Martha and the rest of them in very private moments. 

Yusei turned to the digital clock then turned to Jack, raising a thin eyebrow. “It’s 3 PM,” he said before nuzzling to Jack’s chest again and yawned. 

“Well to you it’s morning,” Jack replied. “Now come on. I bought you a soba noodle salad and a strawberry lemonade.”

“Why lemonade?” Yusei groaned, wanting to smell more of that citrus shampoo.

“Because you and caffeine are a horrible, _horrible_ combination,” Jack shuddered, not even risking giving Yusei an iced tea. 

Yusei rolled his eyes. “It was one time,” he complained. 

Jack kissed his lips. “Yes, and we’ve all learned _never_ to do it again. It took all three of us to hold you down let alone tire you enough to sleep.”

Yusei smirked. “Oh I remember; that was one hell of a night.” Jack had to laugh at that, hearing Yusei moan and beg for more until he passed out from all the sex was a delicious sight to behold.. 

Yusei sat up and stretched his arms. It seemed Jack had changed his usual attire with some sleep pants, he couldn’t say he didn’t appreciate it. “Is there any news about -- “

“No, no, and no,” Jack interrupted. “Kallin and Crow are going to find him.”

“I…” Yusei began but Jack cut him off, placing two fingers on his chin and kissing him, tilting his head up, and kissing him again.

“Answer this, Yusei: ‘What type of trouble is an old man going to get himself into?’ No one’s _that_ mean to pick on him.”

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

There were three loves in Tenzen Yanagi’s life: archaeological discoveries, traveling the world and oden.

And right now, Yanagi was at his favorite oden cart, happily eating a bowl of oden topped with tofu and fishcakes, savoring his freedom. He made it a vow that once a week he would come to have a bowl and just be glad to be alive. For years, ever since he met Crow and Kallen in the Facility, he was doing all he could to research the legends of the Crimson Dragon, and of how it would choose warriors to fight off evil once every 5000 years.

And so, after he was free, he went on a journey to research more of the Crimson Dragon’s lore and the type of dark forces it faced off in the past, collecting as much money as he could and promised he would not return until he found all that he needed. Today he had returned, and he thought that three bowls of oden would be fine before he went to see Yusei to show off his discoveries.

“Ahhh….” Yanagi sighed, setting his bowl of oden down. “That definitely hit the spot.”

“I happen to agree with you on that.”

Yanagi blinked, not expecting company today. He turned to his right and instantly regretted it.

“AHHHH!” Yanagi screamed, seeing the figure next to him. “M-Mr. Armstrong sir?!” 

“Well, well, well,” Armstrong said with a wicked grin. “We meet again, old man.”

“H...how did you know I was here?”

“Oh I just pulled up an old file of yours and recalled that if you were to die in the Facility, your last meal was a bowl of oden,” Armstrong answered, taking his bowl and pouring it to his lips, slurping the soup. “So I asked around town to see which oden cart you’d be sticking your face in and poof, here we are now.”

“P-Please spare me!” Yannagi stammered, bowing towards Armstrong. “I haven’t done anything bad in years. I don’t jaywalk or litter at all. I couldn’t possibly have offended you in any way, W...what do you want from me?”

“You’re hiding something from me and my...associates…” Armstrong began, setting his bowl down. He then pulled out a wad of bills from the pocket of his vest and gave it to the vendor. “And you’re gonna start talking or else I’ll have to make you.”

“No, spare me! I’m just an old and feeble man!”

“Come ‘er!” Armstrong said, launching to grab the old man, but Yanagi was surprisingly nimble, dodging Armstrong before running away and screaming at the top of his lungs.

“Why you --!” Armstrong groaned as he followed after his target. “Get back here, you no good kook! I just want to ask you something!!!” 


	7. Chapter 6 Part 2: Resolutions and Questions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're back with a... relatively new chapter!
> 
> Hi guys, it's been a while with me re-writing previous chapters and re-posting them, but now I'm back with a short chapter and with very exciting news for me. 
> 
> You guys might not know this or didn't pay attention but Rin is my favorite Bracelet Girl, and I was very angry that her monsters are at most like 5 cards. So two days ago we got the news that MORE WINDWITCH CARDS HAVE BEEN MADE AND I AM EXCITED AS ALL HELL. I was so very happy at the news, especially Freeze Bell, so yes I'm very excited and happy about it and plan to buy them when they're actually available. 
> 
> GPQ was happy for the Fabled cards 
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy the chapter, and wish me luck with my essay and classes.

_ “Come on Commander Koda, I know you have info on the Black Rose Witch! So spill!” _

_ Commander Koda, a man with his green hair slicked back in a ponytail and his squinty eyes hidden behind his glasses just grinned as he continued typing on his laptop, not even looking at whoever stood across from him. ”I see no reason to do that. why should I just hand some precious information such as mine to someone like you?”  _

_ Grady groaned inside the office stuffed with books and files and smelled like incense. It had taken him a while to find Commander Koda’s office, and it was taking longer to have the guy even look at him. The Duel Profiler was said to be a great analyst on his opponents, capable of making decks that could outwit theirs all while subtly stating what an opponent’s move means symbolically or whatever. Honestly, it was much better to analyze how to proceed than to discuss a person’s life story. _

_ Unfortunately, what Grady needed right now was Akiza’s life story as to how and why she ended up in the Arcadia Movement in the first place. He didn’t know much about her, and all he got from searching her name was her father, Senator Hideo Izayoi. Not much to go on (then again, that was Carly’s job to dig up dirt). _

_ “Come on, Koda,” Grady said, slamming his hands on the desk. “I know, you know and practically everyone who was at the tournament knows that you had a bone to pick with the Black Rose Witch and got significantly pissed off when Rin stopped you. The only question is, why? Why do you hate her so much?” _

_ Koda’s eyes narrowed staring at Grady. “That’s none of your concern, Mr. Pitt.” _

_ “For the last time, it’s Grady!” _

_ “And for the last time, I am not giving out my reasons to the first Street Duelist that comes my way...at least, not without some cash.” _

_ Grady pulled out his wallet and showed him the few bills left. “Does it look like I’m loaded?!” _

_ Koda looked at the wallet and shook his head. “If you can’t pay my price, then you won’t get anything.” _

_ “Oh come on!” Grady shouted. “Why do you even hate her so much?”  _

_ Koda stopped typing on his laptop and turned to Grady for the first time since he entered the office. “What she did was ruin me, humiliate me, and then didn’t have the decency to remember who I am!”  _

_ “Oh boo-hoo,” Grady said, recalling how Carly survived Akiza’s Synchro Dragons without little complaint. “Do you want me to give you a couple of paper cuts from all these cluttered files and rub salt on them?” _

_ “No, but I would request that you leave my office before I call Sector Security for trespassing on my property. Get. out. My Sight.” _

_ Grady groaned as he stormed out of the office and slammed the door on his way out. Well, that didn’t go well. He thought by emulating one of the Monarchs of Synchro it would give him the edge, but no. He couldn’t go back empty-handed, and searching everyone’s social media pages was going to take forever. He needed the answers and fast. _

_ He sighed before remembering what happened back at the arena and looking back at Koda’s doors before an idea formed in his head and he kicked the door open causing a couple of files to fall to the floor. _

_ “What is it now, Dick?” Koda growled. _

_ Grady smirked. “You ever hear of someone called Professor Frank?”  _

_ Koda paused before picking up a file on his desk and opening it, revealing the picture of said Professor. “Oh him? The one who was trying to produce a research paper over the idea of Duel Monsters residing in a separate dimension?” _

_ Grady gave a wily grin. “That’s the one.” He then took a chair, dragged it towards the desk, back first, and sat down on it. He crossed his arms over the top rail and leaned forward. “He was Rin’s opponent in the semi-finals, y’know.” _

_ “And, let me guess, he lost to the Ice Princess didn’t he?” _

_ “Look at the big brain on you. Betcha didn’t know what she did after she won.” _

_ Koda narrowed his eyes. “And what would that be?” _

_ Grady chuckled, giving his best impression of one of Kalin’s sinister grins that he saw on numerous posters. “You thought what Akiza did to you was horrifying? Well, that was probably all physical wounds, these things heal. But Rin? Well, she broke the Professor’s mind .” _

_ Koda snorted. “Oh yeah? How’d she perform that little trick?”  _

_ “You fought her right? The attacks of her Windwitch monsters felt pretty real, didn’t they?” Grady asked with a smirk, and Koda glared remembering how cold he felt the wind attacks were, and how he could feel the ice spears and snowfall on his body. “The Professor did something dirty on her, tried to take ‘advantage’ of her via hypnosis,” Grady wagged his pointer finger back and forth like the needle of a metronome. “Would’ve gotten away with it too if it weren’t for someone close to Rin’s heart waking her up. _

_ “But the moment she woke up, woo, even the freaking Black Rose Witch was getting shivers!” Grady imitated himself running his hands up and down his arms and squirming in his seat. “She vowed to rip the Professor’s soul apart when she won, turning the entire arena into an icy wasteland, colder than a tomb. I felt it, the rest of the duelists felt it, even Akiza herself was frozen with fear. In a surprising turn of events, Rin summoned a powerful Windwitch Synchro that destroyed Frank’s defenses, and socked him across the face breaking his jaw and freezing his hands over.” _

_ Koda’s eyes widened.  _

_ “So can you imagine someone like Rin scouted out by Akiza to join the Arcadia Movement? And if Rin remembered every single thing you said about her and she came in, freezing the door to your office solid before she kicked it open and froze you in your seat without even saying a word, telling you that she’s come back for revenge? Not just for her but also for her best friend? All the profiling and notes you have won’t mean a thing to what I saw and what I heard.” _

_ Grady looked at Koda trembling in fear before he shrugged his shoulders and stood up. “Don’t take my word for it, I’m just giving you a warning. Now if you excuse me, I’m gonna head out that door and -- “  _

_ “OKAY OKAY, I’LL TELL YOU EVERYTHING I KNOW!” _

_ Grady grinned at Koda looking like that there was a bomb in his office about to go off and he had no idea where it was hidden. “I knew you would.” _

_ Koda hastily opened up a file on his laptop and showed it to Grady. “This is what I found out: when she was five, her powers first manifested. She hurt someone very close to her and this incident changed her life forever.” _

_ “I’m gonna need a name, Koda!” Grady said, giving his best imitation of Kallin’s sinister grin. _

_ “She hurt her father, Hideo Izayoi!” Koda said. “A...all I know is that they dueled, he made her angry and then she struck out in retaliation. In the heat of the moment, Hideo said the two words that would ruin his little girl forever.” _

_ “He called her a monster, didn’t he?” _

_ “Look at the big brain on you! You didn’t need me to figure that part out.” _

_ Grady slammed his hands on the desk. “What happened after that?” _

_ “You know the story. The girl felt like her parents didn’t love her, she ran away where she met Divine, her knight in shining armor…” Koda sneered. “Of course that doesn’t erase the pain that she inflicted on me.” _

_ “And that’s all you got? Nothing else? No one of great importance crossed her path since then?” _

_ “Yes, I swear!” Koda replied. _

_ “...Then I swear that I won’t tell either of those witches you told me all of that,” Grady said standing up. “Well then, I’ll be taking this on me.” _

_ Koda watched as Grady connected his phone to the laptop, making a copy of Akiza’s file before snapping to his senses. “Hey wait, you still have to pay me! That information doesn’t come cheap you know!” _

_ “But I did pay you,” Grady replied, disconnecting his phone. “Via a warning to not stick your hand into a bonfire. Trust me, your life is gonna be more important than these files if Arcadia comes knocking on your door.” He turned heel and began whistling a tune as he grasped the door handle. _

_ “But before you go,” said Koda. “Answer me this...why are you so interested in learning about Akiza’s origins? Don’t tell me that she humiliated you in a duel and you seek vengeance?”  _

_ Grady turned around and shook his head. “Nah I’m just… doing a favor for a friend. See ya.” _

_ He opened the door and walked out, the door swinging shut behind him. Koda sighed, not sure what to believe. He didn’t know a lot about Grady outside that he was just your average street duelist, part-time mechanic, and sometimes a mediator when things went wrong. Grady was mentored by the famous duelist “Enjoy” Chojiro and used Water monsters. _

_ Why would someone as average as Grady want to be involved with the Black Rose Witch? Surely not for money or fame? And who would want this type of information to defame her anyway? _

…

…

...

“Seriously? That’s how you got Akiza’s file?” Carly asked, flipping through said file as Grady told her what had happened. The two were sitting in a bar known as “Bootleg”, which was run by former prisoners of the Facility. It was one of the few Neo-Domino establishments that allowed those from the Commons without discrimination.

“Hey it worked, didn’t it?” Grady said with a shrug. “Besides, it’s not like what I said wasn’t  _ untrue, _ I just embellished and implied that’s all.” 

Carly sighed. “Point,” she conceded.“What are you doing to do next then?” Carly asked

The black-haired Steet Duelist sighed, grabbing his glass of milk. “Probably try to keep an eye on Rin. Something tells me there’s more to her than just a Psychic duelist, and if she is going to join Arcadia I should at least be able to tell you about it.” 

Carly gave him a small smile and nodded. But before she could say anything else, the doors to the bar were suddenly opened with a bang. “SOMEONE SAVE ME!!!” Yanagi screamed, stumbling down the steps. “Security’s coming for me!!!!”

“Finally got you, Yanagi!” A voice said, and Armstrong barged in seconds later. “You can’t hide from me now!”

“No! No please! I did nothing I swear!” Yanagi cried, clasping his hands together and begging on his knees. “Please don’t arrest me!” 

“I’m not gonna--”

There was another bang and everyone in the bar turned their heads to the new intruder, the hushed whispers stopped, and everyone’s jaws fell through the floor as a familiar long silver-haired duelist with golden eyes walked in, his eyes firmly set on the old man begging for help and Armstrong who was grabbing him by the arm.

“K...Kalin Kessler?!” Yanagi stammered.

“Why...Why did it have to be you?” Armstrong grumbled facepalming.

Carly and Grady turned around and hid their faces with some menus, trying to figure out what was going on.

“The hell do you want?” Armstrong asked, glaring at Kalin who didn’t seem remotely intimidated. 

“Him,” Kalin answered easily, pointing at the old man. “Hand him over.” 

“I don’t think so,  _ Shinigami _ ,” Armstrong said. “I saw him first!”

“I’ve done nothing wrong,” Yanagi pleaded. “I’m just an old man who simply wanted to enjoy his oden.”

“Has Armstrong gone nuts?!” Grady whispered heatedly to Carly. “He can’t just challenge one of the Monarchs’ authority like that!” 

“And why him?” Carly said, pointing to Yanagi. “What’s so important about that old man anyway?”

Armstrong took a glance around him, noticing Grady’s black hair from the back and smirked. “You there! Come with me, I'm gonna need some good hands to keep this man in line.”

“I don’t wanna be arrested!!!” Grady said, not wanting to turn around and have one of the scariest Monarchs know his face.

“Save me! Please!” Yanagi begged Kalin. “I've done nothing wrong! I haven't been smuggling cards at all! Honest!”

“Well you’ve been keeping some juicy info to yourself and I and my two associates want it now!” Armstrong growled.

And that’s when Crow came in to see the chaos happening and sweatdropped. “Uh, why is Armstrong here?”

“I think a better question is, why is the Shinigami here?” A man in the bar squeaked out before covering his mouth as if he’d just said something that he shouldn't.

Crow raised his eyebrow and side-eyed Kalin. “The Shinigami?”

“I didn’t start that name, Crow,” Kalin said deadpanned. 

“Aw come on...You get ‘Shinigami’, Jack gets ‘Hell’s Harbinger’, and Yusei is ‘ Stardust Rider’. I wanna cool name too~”

As Crow and Kalin bickered, Grady looked down at his phone, blinking as he looked up and saw Armstrong tapping the side of his nose before reading the message.

_ IronStrong: Old coot has info about the Crimson Dragon. Trust me. _

_ D.Pitt: How the hell did you find this out? _

_ IronStrong: Fortune Lady Past -- the past being unearthed and all.  _

_ IronStrong: Who would’ve thought keeping a clean desk came in handy? _

_ D.Pitt: Okay, I won’t question that. _

_ IronStrong: Did any of you get anything from Goldie yet? _

_ CarliXCX: Yeah, he sent an image of the Crimson Dragon a while back. He also found some stuff about previous dragons who worked for them. _

_ IronStrong: Oh? _

_ CarliXCX: Yeah one iteration to make it “kid-friendly” is a dragon from a fairyland and another one that invoked the lifestream. _

_ D.Pitt: Kid-friendly?! How is that kid-friendly?! _

_ IronStrong: Were there any other  _ important _ dragons? _

_ CarliXCX: Well he called me with news about a big discovery but he got distracted by his niece and nephew coming in. He said he’d text me back later. _

“Now then, back to business,” said Kalin, clapping his hands. “Armstrong, hand over the old man, and no one gets hurt.”

“Look, you have no idea what I've seen and heard over the last few hours,” Armstrong answered. “Like trust me, it'd probably go over those pretty little heads of yours.” He then shouted to Grady and Carly. “Oi, you two! Let's get him out of here!”

“Ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod, why are two of the Monarchs here?!” Carly asked, panicking.

“HOW SHOULD I KNOW? WE'RE SO DEAD OR GOING TO PRISON!” Grady replied. “Of all the Monarchs, why did it have to be the Shinigami?”

“Why couldn’t Armstrong just tell  _ us _ to find the old man instead of chasing after him?!”

“Oh god, it’s Shinigami and the Black Omen! We should leave,” another patron said trying to get out. The others agreed, although the bartender just stayed quiet as he polished another glass.

“See, you have a title too! Happy?” Kalin smirked, ruffling Crow’s hair.

“Actually yeah, it’s pretty cool too,” Crow said with a grin. “Gonna love using it next time I duel.”

Carly had to sweatdrop. These  _ are the people ruling Neo-Domino?  _ She thought. __

“So you two!” said Kalin, approaching Grady and Carly after his little mock argument with Crow. “Who wants to dance the dance of death?!”

Everyone in the bar immediately high-tailed it out the minute Kalin said that question and you could almost see the dust clouds from how fast they had run. No one wanted to be there whenever Kalin Kessler asked someone that.

Crow rolled his eyes even though he was pretty amused with Kalin’s antics. “Just hand the old man over and no one needs to get hurt.”

“And what?” Armstrong huffed. “What type of stuff is he gonna give you? Some precious cards? A lecture on some piece of junk? This guy has some valuable information that I need to squeeze outta him!”

Yanagi whimpered. “Save me please!” The old man said, trying to get out of Armstrong’s grip.

“What a coincidence,” Kalin chuckled. “We’ve been looking for him for some valuable info too. So get out of our way or pay the price!”

“What do we do?” Carly gulped.

“I’ll handle this,” said Grady, standing up. He then approached Armstrong and Kalin, doing his best to stay calm and remember what his old mentor said about diffusing fights. “Look, why don't we all just talk it over. We mean no harm! There’s no reason for this to escalate any further.”

“Yeah, look, we really just need to ask the old man some questions okay um...sirs...we'll give him back...promise!” Carly added, not sure if it was the wig or the stress making her sweat.

“Like the Shinigami said, ‘What a coincidence. We’re looking for some valuable info too',” Crow repeated. “Let him go, Armstrong. We don’t have to do this.”

“Well sorry, I saw him first!” Armstrong barked, grabbing Yanagi’s shoulder.

“Ah! Somebody get me outta here!” Yanagi yelled and tried to run away but Armstrong grabbed him from the back of his shirt. 

“For the love of Neo-Domino just tell me what ya know and then you can go free!!!” Armstrong roared.

“That’s enough!” Kalin snarled. “Armstrong, just give us the man and we all go home in one piece.”

Grady groaned as he picked up his glass of milk. “Oh, I am so gonna regret this…” He drank his milk and then spat it right in front of Kalin’s face. “Armstrong, get him out of here! Now!”

Armstrong lifted Yannagi and carried him under the crook of his arm and ran up the stairs and down the sidewalk where his D-Wheel was waiting for him.

“You're gonna die for this!” Kalin roared, wiping the milk off of his face.

“Damn it!” Crow yelled and ran after Armstrong, hopping onto his Blackwing D-Wheel and following him among the traffic. 

“Too bad, Shinigami!” Carly taunted, activating her Duel Disk. “Your boyfriend left you here to fight both of us!”

“DO YOU WANT HIM TO KILL US?” Grady screamed. 

Kalin smirked. “Please. I can take care of both of you on my own,” he said, activating his Duel Disk.

“Excuse us, Mr. Shinigami, my friend and I want to talk,“ said Grady as he dragged Carly to the side. “Are you sure we can do this?!” he whispered. “You know what he says, ‘Gods of death don’t die!’”

“Yeah, well here's the thing about Kalin's deck,” Carly said. “His monster effects only work if he has no cards in hand.” 

“So what? We don’t have any cards that…” Grady’s eyes widened. “Ohhh... “

Carly winked from behind her sunglasses. “Follow my lead.”

“Come on, boys,” Kalin drawled. “Don’t keep me waiting!!!”

Grady also activated his Duel Disk, swallowing his breath. He just hoped he’d survive this, and hopefully not get imprisoned for disobeying a Monarch. 

“Right then, let’s go for a ride!” Grady announced as he and Carly drew their cards. “Duel!”

** 0-0-0-0-0-0-0 **

“SAVE ME!!! SOMEONE SAVE ME!!!!!”

“Quit your yappin, I haven’t hurt a hair on ya head!” Armstrong said, speeding down the road. How he managed to fix his D-Wheel so that it could carry him and Yanagi was a miracle. “I just want some answers.”

“As I said, I don’t know anything about illegal cards or --”

“Does THIS look familiar to you?!” Armstrong interrupted, shoving his phone into Yannagi’s face.

“Hey!” Crow called, catching up with them, trying to get a better look at what Armstrong was showing him.

“Is this...how did…” Yanagi’s eyes widened. “Is this what I think it is?”

“Sure is. Now I’m gonna try to get away from Crow and you will stop struggling until we get away, got it?!”

“Sure thing!”

Armstrong nodded his head...but then paused when he saw some silhouette appearing behind Crow. “What the -- ?”

Thunderstruck from behind as Crow had apparently summoned Assault Blackwing - Raikiri the Rain Shower. 

“Shiiiit!” Armstrong yelled as his Duel Disk was activated and then stepped on the gas to make the D-Wheel run faster, making Yannagi scream almost falling off. 

“You bastard,” Crow gritted his teeth and as the duel began. 

** 0-0-0-0-0-0-0 **

“Owwwwww…” Grady groaned from his place on the floor after the crushing defeat from Kalin. He knew that there was no chance of winning, but damn it Kalin could’ve gone easy on them!

The Shinigami had Carly pinned to the wall, and she was shivering as if she was truly gazing into Death himself.

“All right, start talking  _ boy _ ,” Kalin ordered eyes narrowed. 

“Okay let's not...get violent please?” Carly whimpered, not wanting to get arrested or lose her phone with all of her important notes on it. Plus she didn’t have enough money to buy another phone right now! “Trust me when we say youwouldntbelieveusevenifwetoldyou….”

“Oh says the one who got too cocky in wanting to beat me to a -- “ Kalin grabbed onto Carly’s shirt and pulled her towards him before he realized that something was off “Huh?” Kalin wondered, raising an eyebrow.

Grady, realizing what Kalin had grabbed, scrambled off the floor to get Kalin’s attention away from Carly. “Hey! Stay away from him, arrest me if you want!”

Kalin rolled his eyes with a tired sigh and let go of the shirt. “Alright, just what do you three want with the old man? He can't really have anything of value to you.” 

“Like my friend said, you wouldn't believe us,” Grady said in a shaky voice.

Carly began texting on her phone.  _ Randsburg, where the hell are you?! _

Kalin raised an eyebrow in amusement. He’s heard of Grady’s attempts to be a mediator, sometimes succeeding and sometimes not. As if the kid had a chance to make the Shinigami back down. “Oh? How do you know for sure?”

“Well because you're the freaking Monarchs of the town!” Grady exclaimed. “You can have anyone you want yet you chose this Yanagi guy that  _ we _ really want right now. What is one old man to you? Why do  _ you _ want him so much?!”

Kalin sighed before removing his glove and raising his sleeve. 

“Oooh, showing off your muscles, so edgy,” Grady snarked. “Like you’re gonna show off how much you -- “

Kalin showed a glowing red mark of a claw on his wrist shutting Grady up immediately. “The old man might know something about  _ this _ ,” he explained, raising his eyebrow.

Grady and Carly looked in shock, Carly nearly dropping her phone, and Grady’s jaw dropped to the floor. “WHAT?!!!!” the two of them shouted, nearly shattering a few glasses.

“Y...Y….YOU'RE A SIGNER?” Carly screamed. 

Kalin raises an eyebrow at Carly. “The hell is a signer?”

“Well... are you gonna believe us?” asked Grady, recalling Akiza’s mark. 

Kalin sighed running out of patience. “Let me explain what just happened, Grady,” Kalin said slowly, rage beneath the surface of his words. Grady gulped, feeling like the very air was frozen just like Rin made it so cold in her duel yesterday. “Your ‘partner’ just kidnapped the only guy who apparently ‘knows’ something about this. And your friend just blurted out something about a ‘Signer’ so yeah I am  _ totally  _ gonna believe what you say as much as I believe in kicking _ your scrawny ass _ !”

“Okay, okay, we'll talk!” Carly said, not wanting Grady to get in trouble because of her. “But um... do you know anyone else who has a mark like yours?”

“Yea. My three boyfriends,” Kalin answered in a deadpan voice.

Carly blinked. “WAIT CROW IS REALLY YOUR BOYFRIEND?! YOU HAVE THREE BOYFRIENDS?”

“Yeah, Crow, Yusei, and Jack,” Kalin said, crossing his arms. He then tilted his head at Grady and Carly’s reactions. “What? It wasn’t that obvious?”

“Th...three...all of you...to...gether?” Carly stammered, eyes rolling to the back of her head before she fainted. 

Kalin smacked his lips. “Guess it wasn’t... is she gonna be okay?” He asked, poking Carly gently with his foot before turning to Grady.

“Yeah, she's gonna…” Grady paused. “Wait, you know?!”

Kalin shrugged his shoulders, pointing to his chest. “I accidentally touched her breast, doesn't take a brain as big as Yusei's to figure it out.”

Grady’s face went crimson red. “Please don't spread rumors about this.”

“I have better things to do with my time. Now a bigger question is how the  _ hell _ does a street duelist and his girlfriend get tangled up with a disgraced cop, and why?”

“One, Carly and I aren’t dating and two, it’s a very funny and crazy story and I honestly hope that Armstrong didn’t anything stupid to get to Randsborg and -- “

“Randsborg?” Kalin repeated, wondering just who else got tangled up in this mess. “Wait, you mean that knight who seems to think he’s gonna go fight off windmills?”

“Does he actually do that?” Grady shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. Well, he was the one who told us about this, the marks and the Crimson Dragon.” 

“And...you believed him?” Kalin asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“Look if you saw what I saw that day, you’d believe in anything. Magical power granting Dragons included.” 

“...Alright fair enough. But seriously, it’s true then? About Randsborg--” 

“Did thou call my name?!” Randsborg cried out, kicking the door to Bootleg open, Duel Disk ready. “Sir Grady, He of Fair Eyes, I have obtained much progress in….” Randsborg paused upon seeing Kallin in the emptied bar, Grady looking exasperated and Carly on the floor. “What...why is the God of Death in our midst?! What have we done to deserve his cruel punishments?!”

Kalin laughed. “Settle down old man, your souls are safe. You’re not gonna be sent to the nether world or anything,” he said, before pulling up a chair and sitting down.

“Oh thank the heavens--” Randsborg sighed.

“Now,” Kalin said, showing his mark to Randsborg. “Apparently you happen to know what  _ this _ is?”

“WHAAAAAATTTT?!” Randsborg screamed, his voice shattering a glass cup behind the bartender’s back. “You...you bear a crimson mark...a claw-like that of the Black Rose Witch?!”

“Is that who holds the other mark?” Kalin said, raising his eyebrow, not shocked at all.

“Aye, she holds one mark of...wait you know who  _ else _ holds the marks?!”

“Yeah, the head, wings, and tail,” Kalin counted on his fingers. “Yusei, Jack, and Crow.”

“ _ The Monarchs of Synchro  _ have the other marks?!” Grady exclaimed. “Are you shitting me?!”

“The Heroes of Legends rule our fair city?” Randsborg questioned, bewildered. Lady Fate seemed to like to make jokes.

“Hey I got a question,” Carly said from the ground before standing up 

“Aren’t you supposed to be unconscious right now?!” Grady exclaimed.

“Oh, He of Fair Eyes!” Randsborg said in relief. “I see thou are not unharmed. Did your Fabled fiends make a dent against the Shinigami?”

Kalin sweatdropped. “Uh you do know that’s a -- “

“Yeah I wish, I swear the lot of them almost looked ready to bolt,” Carly said before showing her phone to Kalin, shoving it in his face. She had pulled up some discussion posts on a forum, mostly talking about the Monarchs. “Okay, so, rumor has it you guys have some mysterious powers, like Black Rose Witch and the psychic duelists. Is any of that true?”

Kalin stared at Carly glaring at her. “None of your business,” Kalin told Carly, his glare making shivers run down her spine. 

“Meep!” she said, hiding her phone behind her back.

“Where is Armstrong? He said that he found a fellow scholar that knew about the Crimson Dragon,” Randsborg questioned after a period of awkward silence. 

Grady pulled out his phone as it got a notification and his eyes widened at social media posts discussing two D-Wheels locked in battle. “Uh….let just says his escapades are probably gonna be on the news pretty soon…” he answered.

“...Oh, gods, Yusei’s gonna kill us,” Kalin groaned.

“Yusei? King of Stardust?” asked Randsborg. “Why would the King of Neo-Domino slay us?”

“Cause he insisted on making sure Yanagi should be kept safe but we all reassured him he’d be fine!” Kalin shouted. “How the hell did Armstrong know where to find him before Yusei did?!”

“Oden,” Grady answered, pulling up a photo of Yanagi having oden Armstrong snapped before everything went to Hell.

“... yep, we three are gonna bite the dust,” Kalin groaned, his head hitting the table.

** 0-0-0-0-0-0-0 **

Armstrong panted for breath, hand on his stomach. That...that was painful.

He was lucky that his D-Wheel didn’t crash and that any bone was not in fact broken. The streets not getting a hit was good too. If he got arrested, ruining public property would be on his list of charges. 

“Oh thank you for not making us crash like that!” Yanagi said, hugging Crow.

“Yeah, yeah, save it for after we get some answers,” said Crow. “All right Armstrong, why are you so interested in the old man? And you old man, what’s with turning around and trying to fight me? I thought you were running from him?” 

“Look, I told you that the answer would go over your pretty boyfriend's head,” Armstrong answered.

“Which one? I got three! Though if you mean Jack I’d totally agree on it going over his head,” Crow said without missing a beat. 

“...You know I always hated that smart mouth of yours! Now give me the old man!” 

“Man you just don't learn, do you? You're in no place to demand anything especially from me. But if we’re done here... old man,” Crow said, turning to Yanagi and removing his wrist band to show his birthmark. “Do you know anything about this?”

“Wait, you got one of those too?!” Armstrong shouted. “Are you kidding me? Who else? Your Shinigami boyfriend?”

“Yep!” Crow said cheerfully.

“... why did I even do this to myself?” Armstrong muttered, realizing the goose chase he put himself to. And now Grady and Xavier/Carly were going to kill him for making them face Kalin Kessler of all people. 

“A Crimson Dragon mark?!” Yanagi gasped, eyes twinkling. “You’re a Signer! How wonderful! History is unfolding before my very eyes!”

“Um...what?” Crow asked, raising his eyebrow. “Do you mind, I don’t know, speaking like a normal person?” 

“All in good time, my boy! Now you said the Shinigami has a mark too? We must go to him at once! Who else has the other three marks? Please I must know!”

“So there are five of these marks?” asked Crow.

“It all depends. You see, the Crimson Dragon chooses 5 Signers and their respective dragons once every 5000 years, however, many stories conflict or are retold. There could be five, there could be more, maybe they are the same dragons, maybe they are different.” 

“Yeah that’s the same as what Randsborg rambled on yesterday,” Armstrong replied. “But he didn’t clarify as to who those dragons could -- “

“Hi, um, excuse me...my lord?” A reporter with red curly hair said approaching Crow.

The three of them turned to the reporter as she approached them with a microphone in hand. Then there were cameras also pointed at them and even a crowd of people with their phones out.

“Would you care to tell our audience why this duel began, and would these two fugitives be arrested on your authority?”

“What?!” Yanagi yelled before getting on his knees and begging in front of Crow. “Please please don’t arrest me! I’m a clean honest man, I promise! I did nothing wrong!” 

“Uhh… It’s um...personal matters. You can back it up, I'll handle the rest, nothing of importance actually happened,” Crow said, rubbing the back of his head. 

Armstrong and Yannagi sighed in relief. 

“Are...are you sure sir? Was the duel made by the King’s demand?” The reporter asked, and Crow’s eyes widened. 

“Um...no, no, it was on mine, nothing to report here, just hope you, folks, here and at home enjoyed this.” 

“You heard it here folks, our Monarchs are still working hard and will give us all the entertainment we crave!” 

And it didn’t take long for the news crew and the crowd to pack up and leave, nor did it take long before Crow realized something important. 

“Oh man...don’t tell me Yusei saw that…” 

** 0-0-0-0-0-0-0 **

In the living room, with empty bowls of food and glasses of lemonade between them, Yusei turned the television off and turned to Jack. “Hey Jack, remind me of something?” 

“...Yes?” Jack asked, knowing exactly what was coming.

“Didn’t you tell me no one else would be looking for the old man?”

“Um...I did…”

“And didn’t we just see him being carried away by Armstrong and both of them dueling Crow?”

“Yes, we did...” Jack answered slowly. 

“...” Yusei gave him a glare

“Well, how was I supposed to know?!” Jack exclaimed. “Yanagi’s been clean for years and Armstrong doesn’t have authority to arrest people anymore!” 

Here’s one thing you need to know about Yusei. When Yusei was calm, you can tell he was calm. But when he was angry, then that calmness is just moments away from cracking like a glass fallen from the countertop.

“Well next time maybe you should LET ME DO MY JOB!” Yusei roared, standing up.

“LOOKING FOR OLD MEN ISN’T YOUR JOB!” Jack shouted.

The guards outside the door guarding the king and the...basically first Prince of Neo-Domino winced at the shouting match that began. They also hoped they weren’t needed to douse out any fires in the future, which they’re still not sure how they began in the first place.

“Can’t you just put a little faith in us?!” Jack said, eyes glowing with flames as black scales formed around his neck, just for protection. “You work yourself too much!”

Lightning crackled in Yusei’s fingers before he groaned and loosened his fists. He sat back on the sofa still mentally tired. He  _ does  _ trust his boyfriends. He knows they’re strong, stubborn, and capable. But Yusei just wants… to make things easier on them. If he can do the work so that others don’t have to, why shouldn’t he?

Jack sighed, the scales receding as he approached Yusei. “Yusei, please don’t do this to yourself. Sometimes we worry about your health.”

Yusei nodded. “You’re right...I know you’re right Jack and I do trust you three. I just want to help.”

Jack sighed again. “I know you mean well, but it’s too much,” he placed a soft kiss on Yusei’s lips. “Just let Crow and Kalin do this, okay?”

Yusei sighed and gave a small smile before pulling Jack towards him for a long kiss. It had always been a habit of his to help others and to do all he could so that their lives were less stressful. But he would sometimes put burdens on himself that makes him feel like a martyr without a reason to offer himself up, to begin with.

As Yusei was about to respond, Jack heard his cellphone ring. The tall blond reached towards it on the table and placed it to his ear. “Hello?”

_ “Uh, Jack. You’re, uh, not gonna believe what I learned,”  _ Kalin answered.  _ “Yeah, apparently we aren’t the only ones with this kinda mark.” _

Jack pinched the bridge of his nose. “This had better be good. Yusei’s kinda pissed off about Armstrong kidnapping Yanagi.”

_ “...damn, he does know… any sparks flying today?” _

“Well, not yet. There may be a  _ tiny  _ chance he can forgive us.”

Yusei grabbed the phone from Jack. “Kalin, give me everything you know  _ right now _ .”

Kalin gulped.  _ “I ...I think my King can wait until we get back to his side.” _

“...That’s not gonna work,” Yusei meant for that to be biting but it came out more uncertain and a bit shaky. 

_ “Alright, we’ll be back in about fifteen minutes, okay? Love you, my King.” _

_ “...”  _ Yusei sighed. __ “Love you too my knights.” He turned the phone off, ending the call. “I hate how much that teasing actually affects me,” he grumbled.

“It’ll be all right. I mean, what Kalin learned can’t be that life -- “

“Don’t you  _ dare  _ start that again! Lady Fate clearly hates you Jack, do not challenge her.”

** 0-0-0-0-0-0-0 **

Yanagi looked back and forth at the two parties, not sure what to believe. On one hand, two of the Monarchs he befriended in the Facility were two of the Signers, chosen by the Crimson Dragon to defend humanity from danger. 

On the other, he had no idea why the Chief of the Facility who kept bullying him and tried to tear his cards into shreds was also interested in the Signers. Unless of course, he was being paid by Jean-Michel Roget to investigate…

But from what Yanagi can see, Armstrong wasn’t doing anything like that. He was just there, silent, glaring at Crow and Kalin while the other three associates -- Randsborg, Grady, and Carly -- were also trying not to say anything. He honestly had a lot of questions as to how these guys were “associated” with Armstrong, but that was for another time.

“So, let me get this straight,” said Kalin. “Aside from the two of us and our other boyfriends, the other person who has a mark like ours is none other than the Black Rose Witch?”

“Indeed, it is. We’ve seen her mark glow on her arm. A claw, same as yours God of Death,” Randsborg explained. “Although it appeared at a strange time.”

“It didn’t appear when she dueled?” asked Crow.

“No,” Armstrong said. “She along with the four of us were watching this girl named Rin fight off this asshole Professor Frank.” 

Crow raised his eyebrow. “A girl named Rin?” 

“Yep,” Carly said. “She plays with Windwitches, and apparently has power over ice. Professor Frank, some creepy psychiatrist, tried to hypnotize her. We’re still not actually sure why, but the point is, she snapped out of it thanks to her friend, and boy was she terrifying when she did. Her eyes were hard and cold, she had this terrifying smirk in her face, and she looked ready to murder someone. The next thing we know the whole arena is covered in ice, she wins her duel and Frank is whimpering on the ground.” 

“That’s when the mark glowed on Akiza’s arm,” Grady added. “She mentioned something about ‘Not again’ and it looked like it was burning. She saw it as some sort of curse.” 

“Aye, and it was probably that and her powers as a Psychic Duelist that made her feel like she was a monster, a witch, a cursed child. Now if only we could get info as to how that happened.”

“And that’s where I come in with my info from Commander Koda,” said Grady, phone in hand. “That guy has a humongous chip on his shoulder in regards to Akiza; just one freaking loss and he spends the next few years tracking down every little detail of her life starting from her favorite food to the name of her favorite stuffed animal. After I ‘warned’ him as to what would happen if Rin -- the girl he dueled and ultimately lost to -- decided to become friends with the Black Rose Witch, he caved! You should’ve seen the look on his face!” Grady cackled. “I just made the story off the top of my head and he shivered like the contents of a pudding cup!”

“Okay then….” said Crow. “What did he say?”

“He said that all of Akiza’s problems started when she accidentally attacked her dad.”

“That senator?” asked Armstrong, raising an eyebrow. While he didn’t pay a lot of attention to politics unless it made sure he had his job and some cash, he remembered reading reports about how Hideo Izayoi really had a low opinion on Psychic duelists. Now it all made sense.

“Yep the same guy,” said Grady.

“What a shame,” said Randsborg. “A child always looks up to the parent and if the parent fails them then they become washed away, left without hope, and fall into the darkness.”

“And it’s because of them that she became part of the Arcadia Movement,” Carly concluded.

“Which reminds me,” said Armstrong. “Who the hell raised you two?”

“Why does that matter?” Crow asked.

“Because you all have these powers yet you didn’t end up broken and cold as Akiza,” Grady answered. “I mean Kalin’s a little weird but compared to the Black Rose Witch, you’re all adjusted. Did you get your powers recently or something cause there were always rumors after Yusei took the throne but I don’t think there ever was footage of you guys having powers.”

“We can’t tell you that now, well not here,” Crow answered. “We’re gonna be in a lot of trouble from Yusei. He kept insisting to keep an eye on Yanagi to protect him but  _ we _ insisted that he’d be safe.”

“ _ So _ sorry,” Armstrong replied with a roll of his eyes. “Why not just listen to the boyfriend of yours and let him find the old man anyway?”

“...trust me, you’ll understand when you meet him,” Kalin replied. “Come on Crow, and you old man, you’re coming with us.” 

“Wait, I have so many questions!” said Randsborg.

“You can come too,” Crow said, already halfway to the door. “But  _ only you _ .”

“Yes! Thank you Dark Wind Monarch!” Randsborg cheered. “From this day forward, I, Sir Gill Randsborg, am forever in your service. And not only that but also the Iron Smith Armstrong, Sir Grady and She of Fair Eyes too. This is a new chapter in the history of the Randsborg name for we are now a mighty group who are off to solve the mysteries of the Crimson Dragon. We have now become...the Crimson Dragon Crusaders!”

Everyone looked at Randsborg in confusion, Crow sweat dropped while Yanagi grinned and shouted, “I like it!”

The four of them headed out the door of the bar, leaving the trio of Armstrong Carly and Grady behind.

…

…

...

“So...our next step is gonna be all about Akiza, right?” asked Armstrong, pouring himself a glass of whiskey. 

“And I thought you didn’t want to be involved in this,” Grady said. “I mean, you’re not getting paid for this. What’s in it for you?”

“I got nothing else to do,” Armstrong said with a shrug. “Might as well do this.”

“Then can you use what little connections you have to get Grady and I to talk with Senator Izayoi?” asked Carly, reading Hideo’s file on Grady’s phone.

“Whoawhoawhoawhoawhoa Carly!” said Grady. “You still want us to talk with the  _ Senator _ ?!”

“If it’ll give us a way to get information on Akiza then yes, unless you want to start storming the Arcadia Movement with little to no evidence, and probably get us arrested,” Carly brought up.

“Uh, I would rather do  _ neither _ !”

Armstrong hocked a loogie on the floor. “Well, that Senator request is gonna be tough, given that I’m not as important to the eyes of the Tops as an overfilled trash can. Unless...” Armstrong groaned, putting his hand over his eyes. “Oh, that’s great. Real freaking great.” 

“Does this means you can do it, you can’t do it, you don’t want to do it or -- “

“Let’s just say that I’ll message you when I can get what I need. You two stay out of trouble for the time being. Don’t make me come and have to arrest you.”

“On whose authority?” 

“You better not make me answer that,” Armstrong said, standing up. “Get some rest, you two. And uh...sorry for making you go through Kalin’s rage.”

“Yeah  _ please  _ never do that again,” Grady begged, before looking at Carly, it was as good of a time as any. “All right, spill,” Grady said. “We may not know who hired that Professor to make Rin his puppet, but at least answer this. Who asked you to investigate Akiza and why?”

Carly said nothing but just pulled out a photo from her phone. Armstrong and Grady looked in alarm.

“Misty Lola? The famous supermodel?!” Grady shouted. “But...but why would  _ she _ have a bone to pick with Arcadia?”

“Because,” Carly answered. “Her little brother, Toby, was a Psychic and she has no idea what happened to him. She asked me to try and figure out where he went and all she knows is that it’s related to Akiza and the Arcadia Movement. The last time they spoke, Toby was talking about wanting to be as powerful of a psychic as Akiza. They had an argument about Akiza being dangerous and then Toby left, never to be seen again.”

“Poor girl,” said Grady. “So her brother could be dead for all she knows."

Carly nodded. “Yeah, I’m investigating Akiza and the Arcadia movement, which is why I’ve been in disguise and trying to find any trail to find more information. When I heard that she was participating in underground duels, I knew that it’d be good to see her in action myself and find out if I can put a chink in her armor.”

“And that didn’t work, but Rin becoming a literal ice queen did and with Grady’s info on her dad, you have a bit more info on how to get Akiza to start singing,” Armstrong added. “But do you really think by getting Akiza’s daddy involved that it would just make her go back to being a good little girl?”

“I’m not hoping for miracles, I’m just hoping it will help us understand Akiza more, and somehow get us more info on the Arcadia movement through her.”

“And we should probably do it before she gets Rin into the movement,” Grady pointed out. “I don’t think the Arcadia Movement needs stronger Psychics.”

Armstrong raised his eyebrow. “She’s trying to recruit Rin?”

“Probably,” Grady said with a shrug. “I got photos of Akiza approaching Rin and Yugo’s abode in an attempt to be ‘friends’ with them. And we all saw what the girl can do; if Divine gets his hands on her, all hell could break loose.”

“That’s if he could,” Armstrong brought up. “She and her boyfriend are a stubborn breed, and she can be ruthless, especially if Yugo’s on the line. You saw what she did to the arena and Frank; the girl has a bad temper and a foul mouth. Convincing her isn’t gonna be easy!”

“So you’re thinking that Yugo could become targeted by the Arcadia Movement. If they have him, they get Rin,” Grady concluded. 

“Yeah, I can see them trying to get the boy too, hurt him or recruit him, but don’t get me wrong -- just cause Rin is the dangerous one doesn’t mean Yugo’s a weakling. Remember what I said about that dragon of his?”

“Right, Clear Wing Synchro Dragon you called it?” Carly asked

“Yeah. But now another question popped into my head.”

“Really?”

“If that Synchro Dragon ain’t one of the servants of the Crimson Dragon, then what is it? And more importantly, who’s this Zarc character Rin muttered?” 

“Also why is it specifically called ‘Synchro Dragon’? Unless…Synchro isn’t the only way to summon monsters,” Carly theorized.

“You mean...there are other types of summonings outside Synchro?” Armstrong raised his eyebrow. 

“Is that...possible?” Grady asked. 

The three of them stood together in thought, not sure what to do with that theory. And then, a light hit Armstrong.

“FOR THE LOVE OF JOHN HENRY IRONS!” Armstrong shouted.

Carly and Grady winced at the yell. “What?” 

“I remember hearing people talking about me when I lost my job, stating that I was insignificant in the long run, not important enough to get my hands on some ‘powerful cards’," Armstrong explained. 

“So?” Grady asked.

Armstrong facepalmed. “So, one of these was a Spell Card I never even heard of before! Poly- Polymer...something like that. Was all about putting two cards in your hand or field to ‘Fuse’ into some purple looking card. I had to call in a  _ lot  _ of favors from my contacts to get this info. I didn’t get it before, but it could be a clue.”

“You mean Roget knows another summoning method? One that not even the Arcadia Movement nor the  _ Monarchs  _ don’t know about?! How?” Grady asked, panicking. 

“Just think about it…” Armstrong asked as he looked at his two…associates. “What do we  _ really _ know about Jean-Michel Roget?”

…

…

...

The silver-haired boy leaned on his D-wheel taking a breath and looking a little perturbed. Crow placed his hand on Kalin’s shoulder “You okay?”

Kalin looked back at Crow with a small sigh and gave him a nod. “Yeah, yeah, I’m just… the feeling is back.”

“Why? What happened?” Crow asked, a little worried. 

“I’m not sure, but I heard that weird laugh again and that weird flicker in my heart, like a memory that I just can’t reach.” 

“It’s okay, we’re heading home, you can relax there,” Crow said grabbing Kalin’s face gently and kissing his lips. “Come on, you always feel better with Yusei.”

“Yeah,” Kalin nodded and got on his D-wheel with Yanagi riding behind Crow, and Randsborg riding his own D-wheel. This was going to be a long night, provided he and Crow survive it.

** 0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0 **

Yugo and Rin took a few more riders along the streets before going home at sunset.

“That was like the best day of my life!” Yugo said, stretching his arms. Rin looked at him and smiled before walking closer and cupping Yugo’s cheek, and placing a kiss on his lips, startling Yugo at first before he closed his eyes and kissed her back.

“When we win the Friendship Cup, we’ll have more days like that. Maybe even better.”

Yugo’s grin widened before hugging Rin and burying his head in her shoulder, Rin smiled as she hugged him back and started to run her hand through his hair. 

“I’m not sure this isn’t a dream you know, I still can’t believe that…”

“Can’t believe what?” Rin asked, and Yugo shook his head. 

“Never mind,” he said, before pausing for a second then placing a kiss on Rin’s neck. “You looked beautiful in that dress.”

“Am I  _ not _ beautiful without it on?” Rin smirked before pulling Yugo for another kiss 

“N-no, you look, you look gorgeous in anything you wear!” Yugo said in a hurry. Rin smiled and looked at Yugo through her eyelashes. 

“Anything?” Rin asked with a smirk on her lips, placing her hand on Yugo’s chest making his heart beat faster in his chest faster for probably the fifth time that day. 

“A-anything!” He stuttered looking at Rin standing there confidently in her suit, the black and green suited her more than the pink and white she used to wear, it made something primal rose in him, wanting to touch her and kiss her hard.

“How nice to know~” Rin’s hand slid up Yugo’s chest, and her finger drew circles over his heart. She ran her finger down Yugo’s cheek. “This morning you acted wildly, you pressed me against a wall and didn’t even wanna stop kissing me.”

Yugo stopped himself from wrapping his hands around Rin’s hips. He had never reacted like that before when it came to any new outfit Rin wore. It was like a match was lit inside him and he exploded like a set of firecrackers as he raced to Rin’s side to just...show how much he liked her. 

“Would you do that again given the chance?” Rin asked, with a smirk. 

Yugo swallowed looking Rin up and down again. She looked breathtaking, seductive, so alluring and Yugo was tempted to touch her and kiss her again until they were both breathless. 

looking at Rin as she watched him from beneath her eyelashes again, why did he feel like the prey at that moment?. 

“Do you want to kiss me?” Rin whispered.

“I…I do…” Yugo whispered. “I do...I really do…”

“Then go on,” Rin whispered. “Kiss me,” she took his hands and placed them over her hip and shoulder, making Yugo’s breath hitch. “Touch me.”

Yugo leaned closer, and pressed their lips together again, gentle at first before the kiss became more heated as Yugo pushed them both further into the wall. Yugo’s hand slid up Rin’s hip and down her arm, his lips kissing down her chin and her neck, making her gasp.

Rin’s hand pressed Yugo’s head into her neck further as her nails ran up and down his back, she heard Yugo letting out a pleased breathless moan. 

“That’s it,” Rin purred. “My future king of Neo-Domino, nothing will stand in our way to get what we want, unleash the power you have inside.”

Yugo’s breath hitched, his soul froze from within his very body. He panted as he looked at Rin; he couldn’t keep his eyes off of her, both of them were a little disheveled still in their riding outfits, Rin looking like a fallen angel, so beautiful and saccharine sweet to him. He remembered her cold looks and scowls at others, how her eyes would go hard when she’s angry, how scary she can truly be when someone messed with her or tests her patience, and how sweet and supportive she can be with him, everything about her made Yugo love her more. Her hand ran down his face and he leaned down kissing her hard, pressing her against the wall, his hands trailing over her body.

Rin patted his shoulder, a wide and excited grin on her face.

“You don’t have to be shy with me anymore. Unleash  _ everything  _ inside you, and soon we’ll be ruling this city together. You’ll be king, as you were always meant to be.” 

Yugo wasn’t fully sure what that meant but it sent more pleasant shivers down his spine. “As long as I have you, I’ll do anything for you Rin,” he vowed. 

“I know,” she said tilting her head and looking at Yugo from under her lashes. “So would I,” she promised, and pulled Yugo against her then kissed him deeply, making Yugo relax in her arms as he kept kissing her. 

…

…

…

“You were great today,” Rin said as she started sifting through her deck, the two sitting on a couch. “The duel was amazing,”

Yugo grinned and rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah it was fun, Aki is strong and she sure has some adorable dragons, I can’t believe I actually got to duel and beat the Black Rose Witch!” he said. 

Rin giggled and went back to look through her deck before she blinked and made a sound of small confusion. 

“What is it?” Yugo asked before moving to look over her shoulder, to see a new Windwitch he’d never seen before, she had long purple hair that reached her back with a red and green visor with a blue witch’s hat with a pink bow from behind and she wore a white suit with a pink bow in the front and purple skirt. 

“A new monster? She’s cute, when did you get her?”

“I...Not sure…” she answered

“Huh? What do you mean you’re not sure?” Yugo asked, blinking.

“I…” Rin looked at the card in her hand before remembering Ray’s promise, and how pissed off Ray was at her own failure to protect herself and Rin, she was grateful to Yugo and Zarc, but the fact that she couldn’t handle a simple trickster alone made her blood boil, this might have been an attempt at an apology from Ray and extra protection.

Rin placed her cards on the small table before getting her extra deck and shifting through the cards there as well, she ended up removing two purple cards, two black cards, and one new Synchro Monster. 

“What are these?” Yugo asked, looking at the strange cards, before picking one up. “These are all Windwitches but how did they get here” And more importantly how do you use them?”

Rin shrugged. “I...I’m not actually sure,” she said, looking at one of the black cards, reading the effect. 

“No fair! I want new cards too, why did you get them?” Yugo whined, pouting as he started looking at the new cards. 

Rin sighed and ruffled Yugo’s head smiling softly. Yugo smiled back and looked away bashfully then grabbing one of the new cards. “Do these actually work? I don’t think I’ve seen anything like them before.”

Rin nodded before going through the cards in her deck before finding a strange spell card. 

“What’s that?” Yugo asked.

“A Spell Card...Polymerization?” Rin said, hoping she pronounced it correctly.

“What does it do?” Yugo asked, blinking. 

“Let’s see,” Rin said, “‘[Fusion Summon](https://yugioh.fandom.com/wiki/Fusion_Summon) 1 [Fusion Monster](https://yugioh.fandom.com/wiki/Fusion_Monster) from your Extra Deck, using [monsters](https://yugioh.fandom.com/wiki/Monster_Card) from your [hand](https://yugioh.fandom.com/wiki/Hand) or [field](https://yugioh.fandom.com/wiki/Field) as [Fusion Material](https://yugioh.fandom.com/wiki/Fusion_Material)’...uh, so this summons Fusion monsters?”

“Okay, and what happens to the other monsters? Do they get sent to the graveyard, go back to the deck, or do they get banished?”

“Um...hmm..” Rin hummed not sure how to do it either. 

“Do they even work on an actual Duel Disk?” Yugo asked. 

“We should try them out to see,” Rin said.

“Right, so,” Yugo said, placing the Purple cards on the right, and the black cards on the left and putting the Polymerization card beside the Fusion Monsters and with a few regular Windwitches to try and figure out how to summon these monsters.

“So this says to get this Monster I have to use Windwitch Winter Bell and another Windwitch Monster,” Rin said pointing to Windwitch Crystal Bell. “Probably using this Polymerization card.” 

“That’s pretty specific, Are all Fusion Monsters like that?” Yugo asked, and Rin shrugged in response. “Well, getting Winter Bell is pretty easy, and this card is sort of good if there is a monster with a powerful effect in the Graveyard. I think you have better cards, but this is good for back up plans.”

“True, but I see no use for this one yet,” Rin said and took a glance at the other Fusion Monster. “Okay this one is less specific, with one Synchro Monster and one Windwitch monster, she gains 200 ATK for every Windwitch Monster in my Graveyard and I get one Windwitch Spell or Trap card, but I have to skip my Draw Phase next turn, and if she’s destroyed I get back one Windwitch Monster from the Graveyard in defense mode,” she said, holding  _ Windwitch Carilion _ in her hand. The girl on it had white hair with a purple bow tying her hair into a ponytail, a dress with a purple bodice decorated with glitter crystals that fell down into a black skirt. On top of her head was a black witch’s hat with purple and black visor and her nails were colored black and filed sharp like dragon claws. 

“That’s a pretty great one actually,” Yugo said smiling and Rin nodded. 

“Okay so these are Fusion, we’ll presume for now that you send them to the graveyard so you could summon them,” Rin said and Yugo nodded. “So what about this Xyz?”

“2+ LV 4 Windwitch Monsters’,” Yugo read. “Okay so you need monsters with the same level, then what? Are they like Tuners? I mean if all you need are two non-specific same level Monsters that you send to the graveyard then that is pretty easy to do right?”

Rin nodded looking at the effect of the card. “What’s an ‘Overlay Unit’?” 

“Uhh…Okay… I don’t think I know,” Yugo said scratching the side of his head. 

“...You’re actually taking this whole new cards thing well,” Rin pointed out.

“Yeah, I guess… It’s just been a crazy two days you know, and I don’t understand half of what happened through it, it kinda makes me dizzy. But you got new cards, stronger cards, and our dream of winning the Fortune Cup is getting closer.” Yugo said, making Rin smile and pull Yugo to her in a side hug. Yugo froze for a moment before smiling and nuzzling Rin like a kitten. “We will get what we want, whichever of us wins, and if it’s you,” Yugo said with a confident grin. “Then I’ll cheer you all the way until you reach your throne.” 

Rin’s eyes widened a bit before smiling softly at Yugo and kissing his lips. “It’s your throne too, Yugo,” she whispered, caressing Yugo’s cheek. He smiled and hugged Rin. She pulled him closer letting his head rest on her chest, as she ran her hand through his hair, she began to hum softly, Yugo’s smile widened, not noticing how haunting the melody became. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> P.S: No Lady Fate Does not hate Jack Atlas... she just thinks screwing with him is funny


	8. First Try.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, it's been a while huh? Almost too weeks. Well honestly this chapter was kinda hard to write, I suppose it wasn't fully necessary but it is what it is, and GPQ helped as much as she could but she was busy with her own stories, so this chapter is again mostly me, I still hope you guys enjoy it. 
> 
> So funny thing, a few days ago while writing the Ruri scene I legit had a rage melt down and started ranting about... well a lot of things, some of which were this:
> 
> (You know what also well annoys me about the Fusion cards Akaba gave the girls? If they already have the materials for the Synchro or Xyz Summon then the fusion is completely useless. Rin's fusion doesn't offer her more protection, in fact it outright takes it from her and she has to have destroyed a big monster in order to even gain a good effect, and While Ruri's fusion Monster is good with it's effect SHE CAN EASILY WIN THE GODDAMN DUEL FASTER WITH HER XYZ. THESE CARDS ARE MEDIOCURE AT BEST.
> 
> like no Ruri's fusion monster is pretty and I would like the card but to have an actual powerful monster you have to get at least 3 Xyz materials and fusion summon it with a fourth to get at least 2500 Attack with the only protection being that spell cards can't effect it, Okay NEWSFLASH ASSHOLE IT CAN BE DESTROYED THROUGH BATTLE AND IT DOES NOT HAVE A FLOATING EFFECT So what the fuck when regular Lyrilusics had BETTER PROTECTION
> 
> I'm infuriated this card is infuriating It's not a last minute monster to be used, it's a step in the same place if not one backwards
> 
> with Rin at least you can get the ordinary Winter Bell and maybe Ice Bell with a 500 Burn but what the fuck even is Independent Nightingale?)
> 
> I actually had more to say but I legit went to a rage from thinking about these cards. Why do I like arc-V again? Ugh, sorry. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter. Next chapter we'll be back to Standard, and I do promise more focus on Yuya and Yuzu.

Needless to say, Divine was… shocked, flabbergasted, absolutely stunned, and out of words, that Akiza Izinski, the Black Rose Witch, his most powerful student, _lost_ to an _orphan boy_ from the _Commons!_ ** _What?!_**

Admittedly, strong people from the Commons exist, seeing as the Enforcers were all duelists who hailed from there. Divine was many things, but unable to see talent and power because of social status was not one of them. In fact, it's quite idiotic that he couldn't. After all, many of his students were from the Commons and they showed great power and anger, and Rin, the girl who he was interested in obtaining was from there as well.

However, a young boy who did not seem to have any powers had beaten Akiza, and yet he couldn't see it. Akiza said that the boy _might_ have some powers, she said it was like he could talk to her dragons, he certainly loved seeing them, and admittedly someone looking at Black Rose Dragon without being terrified was a new thing, given Akiza's reputation.

Divine wanted to see the boy for himself, test him, and see if him defeating Akiza was simple luck or true skill. But how? Akiza did say that the both of them agreed to come to visit with her so perhaps if they ever came, Devine could separate them both and take Yugo to test him, if he was truly powerful, then he gets two birds with one stone, for now, he's going to have to be patient until the two of them do come to visit.

For now, it would be better if he left coaxing the two of them to enter this facility to Akiza. She did appear to have gotten the two's trust and if either of the kids would see Arcadia students spying on them then they might lose their trust in her. Rin would be enticed by the money and the luxury that they offer. After all, isn't that what they both want? The reason that the two children want to join the Friendship Cup?.

Well, the Arcadia Movement could provide that and more; a place of solidarity, a place to hone her skills, a place where she could receive guidance. From what Divine has glanced through reports, Rin was like the wind, wild, unruly, and destructive. She was not a force to be messed with and that was _before_ she showed any Psychic powers. Now that she did she would certainly be harder to control, but it would be worth it, to have someone as powerful as her, someone, who can rival Akiza in power. And once she honed her skills more, he could fulfill his end of the bargain with Roget and send her as one of the students who will try to defeat the Monarchs in the Friendship Cup.

After all when you have students who can affect the world around them by a duel, to presumably ordinary people, then the Psychic duelists would certainly have the edge.

And if the Monarchs - their biggest obstacles - are gone, then that's one step closer to their ultimate goal to control all of Neo-Domino City.

He should be patient, the butterfly will be in the spider's web soon enough.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

It had been a normal morning so far for both Rin and Yugo, both of them did their morning routine, made some breakfast, and opened their laptop for the news channel in case they had missed something important the night before, or this morning. Nothing too important was reported on, even the small duel that Crow Hogan had been in was unremarkable, crafty, but unremarkable.

Rin had gotten out of the apartment for a small walk, Yugo had asked if she wanted some company but she told him that she just needed to stretch her legs for a few minutes. She got herself a can of coke from a vending machine, and got back home, through her walk she had felt eyes looking at her and following her, yet when she looked around she didn't see anyone, in particular, a shadow here and there.

She opened the door to the apartment seeing Yugo sitting at the laptop browsing something, he looked up from the screen and his face let up.

"Had a nice walk?" Yugo asked.

"Yeah," Rin replied, "though it almost feels like someone is following me ya know? I just have this feeling."

"Well, if you're feeling unsafe-"

"Nah, it's okay, I can handle myself," she answered, opening the can and taking a drink. _'Now more than ever,'_ she thought.

"You walked all this way and you still haven't drunk that? Isn't it hot by this point?" Yugo asked, looking at the can in Rin's hand.

"Oh no, my icy stare freezes anything," she said jokingly as if saying an inside joke only she and Yugo would understand, making Yugo snort.

Rin sat down on the couch and looked at one of her new cards as she pressed herself comfortably against Yugo, she turned to him and smiled looking at his happy smile and handsome face, she never wanted to lose Yugo to anything, it terrified her. Her hand reached out tucking the blue locks of his hair behind his ear gently making Yugo blink at the touch and look at Rin who smiled fondly at him, Yugo's cheeks reddened a bit as he looked at her.

"What? What is it?" Yugo asked, and Rin's smile widened more before leaning in closer and kissing Yugo's lips. Yugo blinked a few times before closing his eyes and kissing Rin back, getting used to this new level of affection from her.

Rin broke the kiss and looked at Yugo, whose crystal eyes were turned to slits for a few seconds looking as if he wanted to do more, before letting out a breath and letting his eyes return to normal.

Rin licked her lips, running her hand through Yugo's hair. "How about a duel?" she asked smiling.

"Huh?" Yugo asked, just enjoying Rin's touch.

"I need to test these right? I can't just add cards into my deck without balancing them and figuring out new strategies, hypothetical ones aren't exactly perfect."

"True… yeah sure! Let's have a duel."

"Great! And no holding back got it?"

"But you got new cards and you're still learning."

"Yugo," Rin said with a frown, "Going easy on me is not gonna help, if you don't give me your all I'll be very mad at you, got it?"

"Yes Ma'am!" Yugo said enthusiastically and Rin giggled. "No complaining if I win in two turns though."

"Oh, that confident are we? We'll see~" Rin teased before, lowering her eyes lids, eyes looking a cold amber and a smirk on her lips before pressing herself to Yugo and hovering her lips near his before moving back a step, making Yugo whine. "Let's make it more fun then, how about a bet if you're that confident."

"A bet?" Yugo asked, grinning, and raising his eyebrow.

"Yep, if you do win you get to decide what I wear for the next week," Rin said with a grin.

"Huuh?! Are… are you serious?"

"Yep, but within reason of course," Rin said with a smirk, making Yugo swallow and nod. "And if I win... I get your Clear Wing for a week!"

"Haaa! Not fair!" Yugo yelled.

"Oh?" she said, raising an eyebrow. "Are you backing out?"

"What?! No way! I'll win this, I'll make sure of it!" Yugo said grinning confidently.

Rin giggled. "Alright then," she nodded confidently. "Let's find a good place to duel."

"Right!" Yugo said with a nod.

The two of them changed to their riding outfits and headed for the door, getting on their D-wheels and riding to get to the battlefield, unknown to them were the people watching them, and subtly following them.

…

…

...

Grady watched as the two young duelists rode on their D-wheels and headed somewhere on the outskirts of the city. He wanted to keep an eye on both of them in case the Arcadia Movement made a move.

It was very clear that Arcadia was dangerous, and that they had their eyes on Rin, why else would they send Akiza to befriend her? And after the display she made against Frank, Grady knew that if Arcadia fed her lies and trained her more, that she'll be one of the strongest people in the city, despite her young age, she might be able to even rival the Monarchs, he couldn't let that happen. So he opted to watch her and try to interfere if things turned for the worse.

_CarliXCX: In position?_

_: About to be. How's Armstrong doing with that favor of his?_

_CarliXCX: Says he's still trying to get an audience._

_D. Pitt: Alright, keep me updated, they're about to head out._

_CarliXCX: Sure, and be careful! Got it?_

The black-haired man placed his phone back in his pocket and put his helmet on then revved up his own motorcycle before following the two of them from a safe distance, making sure that they didn't notice him.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

The two of them reached the old abandoned factory at the outskirts of the city and parked their D-wheels, making sure to put in the electronic lock in case someone tried to steal them, which might be hard to do with the two of them being close but it's always better to be safe than sorry, they had spent far too much time together to build their D-wheels to the point that food was scarce sometimes and had to do with as little as possible, but it will all be worth it soon, they just knew it, one of them had to reach the throne, and their dream will come true, and with Rin's new cards… hopefully, they will reach it soon.

Rin came closer to Yugo and gave him a kiss. "Good luck kiss," she said with a smile before it turned into a smirk. "You'll need it."

"H-hey!" Yugo protested half-heartedly, cheeks red and Rin giggled before moving away and activating her Duel Desk. Yugo was quick to activate his own Duel Disk.

"Duel!" Both of them yelled.

**(Yugo: 8000)...(Rin:8000)**

Grady watched the two kids activate their Duel Disks. Armstrong was right too, the two are pretty close, it's easy to see that. A thought crossed Grady's mind, he saw how far Rin's anger goes and wondered if Yugo has the same sort of anger and danger. Could he have any powers? And would Archadia be interested in him too? Glad that his phone had a full battery, Grady began to record the duel on his phone.

The dragon Armstrong talked about would be quite interesting to watch and see if there is a way to combat it, after all a monster that can negate other monsters' effects is very powerful, he just hoped he's not spotted by anyone.

"I'll start!" Yugo said drawing a card, his grin widened looking at his opening hand. Almost wanting to laugh. "I summon Speedroid Horse Stilts into the field,"

A toy horse with stilts for front legs and a green main ran into the field. (1100 ATK)

"And using its effect I can special Summon another Speedroid monster from my hand so I summon Speedroid Den Den Duke to the field."

A small toy soldier wearing a red cap a french hat with lightning-like shoes and a den den daiko drum stick in his hand with him holding it like a staff (1000 ATK)

"Toys?" Well, that something Grady didn't expect. How strong can these things be?

"And we both know what that means don't we? I tune my two Speedroid monsters together!"

"Already? He really must be good," Grady thought.

The monsters flew in the air with Den-Den Daiko Duke turning into three green circles and Horse Stilts turning into four stars before the light shines through them with a monster appearing from them.

**(3* + 4* = 7*)**

"Spread those wondrous and beautiful wings. Strike down our enemies at light speed! Synchro Summon! Come forth! Level 7! Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!"

Clear Wing spread his wings and roared as he was summoned to the field, his tail swiping around, crooning a bit as she saw Rin smiling up at him. (2500 ATK)

Rin chuckled. "Hey you," she said a big smile. Even if Clear Wing was hard to beat it didn't mean she liked seeing him any less, she was always protective of her and Yugo.

Wait... that dragon's friendly with Rin?! Grady thought. I was not expecting that, Armstrong said that the dragon was vicious. And that's right...why exactly is it called Synchro Dragon?

"Next since I have a Wind Monster on the field I get to Special Summon Speedroid Taketomborg into the field," Yugo said, showing the card and placing the monster on the field.

It looked like an action figure of a bug with a blue head and body, big eyes, and two yellow antennas on its head with yellow screws on both the side of its lower body and yellow and orange legs and arms. (600 ATK LV3)

"Then I banish Den-Den Daiko Duke from my graveyard so I can Special Summon Red-Eyed Die!"

Floating in the air next to Taketomborg was a large golden die, with its pips being red marks. The side that had a sole pip was a large eye with a crimson pupil. (300 ATK LV3)

"And you know what that means Rin~," Yugo said with a grin. "I tune my Level 3 Taketomborg and my Level 3 Red-Eyed Die!"

The two monsters flew in the air with the Tri Eyed Dice turning into three circles with Taketomborg turning into three stars with

**(3*+ 3*= 6*)**

"Magical sword with the form of a cross. Use your power to rend all enemies! Synchro Summon! Appear now! Level 6! High-Speedroid Devil Sword Dama!"

Riding onto the field was a violet vehicle that looked similar to a cross and mallet formed together with four spikes on its tires and two black half-orbs on each side. (2200 ATK)

"Next I use Kendama's effect and banish Taketomborg from my graveyard and reduce your life points by 500." Kendama went flying towards Rin, grazing her a bit.

"Two Synchro monsters in one turn," Grady saw, he might have underestimated these monsters after all.

**(Yugo: 8000)...(Rin:7500)**

"Uh," Rin sighed, a little burning from Yugo was nothing, but he already had two monsters on the field meaning she had to match him with something that is either more powerful than his monsters or won't be destroyed that easily, usually, Snow Bell was good at that, but now with the new cards she might have new ideas.

"I place two cards face down and end my turn," Yugo said, placing two cards face down in the Duel Desk slots.

"My turn then I draw!" Rin called, drawing her card and looking at it, she didn't have Ice Bell in hand so her usual compo won't be the opening but she still had good cards in hand to bring a big monster that can withstand Clearwing, "First-"

Yugo cut her off. "I activate the trap card Dragon Bind and target Clear Wing with it!"

A trap card that had a giant pink dragon flying in the sky sending what looked like sound waves down appeared and a white aura surrounded Clear Wing making him roar as he was targeted by the trap.

Rin froze looking at the card in surprise before she screamed in outrage "What?!" Yugo started to laugh, and Grady raised his eyebrow, how bad can that card be? "Are you kidding me? I can't Special Summon a monster unless they have more ATK points than Clear Wing, how is that fair?! I can't Special Summon anything from my main deck!"

"Oh…"

"Hey I can't special Summon either right now," Yugo said with a grin.

"THAT'S NOT THE SAME YOU ALREADY HAVE CLEAR WING OUT!" Rin snarled.

Grady shivered, how is Yugo not worried when Rin seemed that furious with him, after what he saw from her other duel, she's really not a girl to be underestimated.

Yugo just grinned, still amused . "If these are the cards I get from your good luck kiss can I get one before all my duels? I'd probably win in two turns flat." Rin's reply was to screech in frustration. Yugo knew he was gonna pay for this later, but it was worth it.

Rin's eyes narrowed, becoming determined. They weren't icy, a good sign for Yugo, she wasn't gonna kill him for this. Even though he does get pleasant shivers whenever the icy look and hard eyes appear, she was terrifyingly gorgeous, her explosive anger is easy to deal with, it was like his own, when she became calm and cold that's when people should fear for their actual safety.

"Ugh, fine, I summon Windwitch Glass Bell," Rin said with a graon.

A green-haired witch in a white suit with blue lines on it and a pink bow with a blue jewel impeded in it, blue shoes and a blue witch's hat with another pink bow, she arrived giggling at the field before blinking and looking around her seeing the Clear Wing, Kendama and the trap card, her eyes widened and she gasped looking at Rin in confusion before crossing her arms and pouting. (1500 ATK Tuner)

"I use her effect to take a Windwitch monster to my hand, and I choose Windwitch Ice Bell," she said, and Glass Bell extended her hand with a small ball made of blue light appeared and Rin took a card in hand showing her to Yugo and placing her in the other hand. "Then I place two cards face down, and end my turn."

Yugo grinned wider and drew a card. "I'm so winning this bet, Rin," He said, making Rin narrow her eyes and cross her arms. Yugo looked at the card then turned his sights at Kendama. "I use Kendama's effects and banish Hours Stilts from my graveyard, costing you 500 more life points."

Kendama sent another piercing beam of blue light at Rin making her wince and jump back a bit.

**(Yugo: 8000)...(Rin:7000)**

"Fuck…" Rin was clearly annoyed.

Yugo laughed, "And I'm not done yet, Kendama go, attack Glass Bell!" Kendama flew over and pierced Glass Bell, making her shriek.

"Ugh!" Rin groaned at the wind hitting her. Her monsters were made to be Special Summoned easily like Yugo's; if she can't do that she's basically like a small leaf against an oncoming storm.

**(Yugo: 8000)...(Rin:6300)**

"And you know what's next, Clear Wing attacks you directly!"

"Shit!" Rin yelled as Clear Wing roared, his wings spread as he flew at Rin and with a wave of his tail sent Rin back a bit.

"Oof, ohh that hurt," Rin growled, raising her head and having an annoyed smirk on her face, making Yugo shiver in fear, he knew if he was anyone else they'd probably be murdered for that, and if she can destroy his Trap Card then she probably won't be merciful on her next turn.

"I place a card face down and I end my turn," Yugo said, suppressing another shiver of delight looking at Rin's smirk.

**(Yugo: 8000)...(Rin:3800)**

"My turn," Rin said and drew a card looking at it and her smirk sharpened looking at Yugo through her hooded eyes, Yugo swallowed.

Grady felt another shiver of fear go through him. Even Yugo looked nervous, but Grady wasn't sure if she could get out of this situation easily.

"First, I activate my Trap Card Snow Storm!" A Trap Card showed Windwitch Calamity, Windwitch Ice Bell, and Windwitch Neve Bell dancing around in the snow as they appear to sing or recite a spell, as the winds begin to become stronger.

"Which allows me to choose to activate one or both effects of this card, Destroy a Trap/Spell card on both fields and return one Windwitch to my hand from the field or graveyard, so I choose to do both and destroys Dragon Bind, and my other face down card."

Both cards were shattered and destroyed, Yugo's eyes widened and a drop of sweat trickled down his forehead, knowing very well it was about to get a whole lot colder.

"And now, the second effect of the card activates, so I get Glass Bell back to my hand," Rin said, taking Glass Bell back from the graveyard and showing her to Yugo.

"And because I destroyed Weather Witch." A see-through card's image appeared and showed Windwitch Ice Bell on her flying broomstick with another Windwitch with Cyan hair sitting behind her, one hand wrapped around Glass Bell while the other is extended to the colorful sky while Windwitch Sleet Bell waits her turn. "I can search my deck and take one Windwitch to my hand and I take Windwitch Cloud Bell," she said, showing Yugo the new monster in her hand. Too many Windwitches, not all of them can burn him, but he knew that this was gonna hurt.

"And I'm not done yet darling," Rin said her tone was saccharine-sweet that was clearly full of annoyance. " So I activate the Field Spell Castle of Frost!"

"Uh oh…" Yugo swallowed looking at Rin's cold smirk.

Rin didn't really play that card before so Grady had no idea what it did, but Yugo clearly knew, could it really be that dangerous?

"Oh you're about to pay for Dragon Bind big time," Rin said, her eyes narrow, still smirking.

"Oh come on, it was in my hand was I not supposed to play it?" Yugo brought up in defense. "We do have that bet after all~"

"Yes, but we both knew I wanted to test my new cards, and that was the most annoying move you could have pulled on my ass Yugo."

Yugo laughed nervously rubbing the back of his head. "True…"

Rin smirked again, "Now that that's out of the way, I'm still not gonna take it easy on you my sweet," Rin purred, making Yugo shiver again, he wasn't sure if it was from the cold of the Field Spell or of it was just Rin's own effect in him. Rin placed the card in the field slot and snow began to fall and cover the land as a beautiful ice castle with a snowy forest rose from the ground.

"And we both know what that means, each time I summon a Windwitch monster to the field, you lose 200 life points, Tell me Yugo, how many Windwitches do you think I'm about to summon?"

"Uh…" Yugo stuttered, he's not about to get out of this duel without a few frostbites, he just knew it.

"Let's Start then shall we?" Rin asked, smirking, and looking at Yugo through her eyelashes. She showed him Windwitch Ice Bell in her hand. "Since I have no Monsters on the field I can Special Summon Windwitch Ice Bell."

Ice Bell flew into the field with a giggle, looking at Yugo with a grin and waving at him. She had blue and cyan hair with a white suit and pink lines, purple boots, and a pink skirt along with a pink bow on her chest with a blue gem impeded in it, with a wand in her hand. (1000 ATK, LV 3)

"Next, since she was summoned this way I chain her effect with the Castle so You lose 200 Lifepoints, and another chain due to her and I get to Special Summon another Windwitch monster from my deck to the field and I choose Windwitch Bell Freeze Bell, and you know what that means, another Chain and another burn!"

Ice Bell giggled waving her wand in the air creating a cyan portal in the sky and a new Windwitch flew down, with purple hair. White suit with a purple ruffle skirt, a pink bow on the collar of the suit with a blue jewel impeded in it, a green witch's hat with another pink bow on the back of it, riding a broom like Ice Bell with a wink sending Yugo a playful kiss. (1200, LV 3)

In quick succession, gusts of wind hit Yugo twice, lowering his life points.

**(Yugo: 7600)...(Rin:3800)**

"Next Ice Bell gets to burn you for 500 Life points~," Rin reminded him as Ice Bell giggled pointing her wand at Yugo and cold winds hit him.

Yugo shivered, rubbing his arms, and sneezed. Rin did not have any mercy after the Dragon Bind, and he's paying for it. He'll probably get sick after this duel. He hoped they would have enough food to make soup later.

**(Yugo: 7100)...(Rin:3800)**

Grady kinda felt bad for Yugo, being hit with that much cold winds could not be a good or a nice feeling, and even the snow of the field spell felt real, which was not too good for him since he did not have a warm jacket to protect him from this cold.

"Next since I have two or more Wind Monsters on the field I can Special Summon Windwitch Snow Bell," a small white bell-like monster with blue markings and golden head appeared on the field ringing. (100 ATK, LV 1, Tuner)

"That's another 200 life points taken from you," Rin reminded him as another gust of wind hit him, making him shiver again.

**(Yugo: 6900)...(Rin:3800)**

"I'm not done yet~" Rin singsonged. " I use chime of the Windwitch and target Ice Bell to Special Summon another Windwitch with the same name, So I Special Summon Windwitch Snowfall Bell! "

was a girl with white hair wearing a white suit with black linings and a black frilly skirt with a few white bows on them. Topping her head was a black witch's hat with a blue and white viser covering her eyes. She held a small wand in her hand. (LV 2, Tuner)

"She wasn't done?!" Grady thought, eyes wide. "That was four monsters in quick succession!"

"Oh boy…" Yugo lamented.

**(Yugo: 6700)...(Rin:3800)**

"And I Normal Summon Windwitch Sleet Bell to the field, A young woman with dark blue and white hair, a deep blue suit a blue white around her neck and a white frilly skirt and blue shoes, she also had a witches' hat with bell dangling on the side, and white and blue visor with a small wand in her hand that had a white bell at its base

"And you do remember her effect right Yugo? For every Windwitch Monster on the field, you lose 300 Life points, along with the 200 from the field."

Sleet Bell raised her wand and aimed it at Yugo, as the winds hit him again, Yugo, small shards of ice hit Yugo before breaking easily all over him

**(Yugo: 5000)...(Rin:3800)**

"Five Windwitches… in one turn, and they reduced Yugo's life points this far… Man, these kids can be scarily powerful, " Grady thought, looking with wide eyes at the five monsters on the field.

"Next I use Freeze Bell's ability, so her level is raised by 1 this turn," Freeze Bell giggles and extends her hand with a small gust of wind her level rose by 1.

(LV 3- LV4)

"Now I tune Freeze Bell, Ice Bell, and Snow Bell together!"

The three monsters flew up with Windwitch Snow Bell turned into a green circle with Freeze Bell and Ice Bell turned to seven stars as a light went through them.

**(3*+ 4*+ 1*= 8*)**

"Ice and Frost, storms running through the white cold snow, pass through me and imbue me with your powers , Synchro Summon! Level 8! Arrive with the storm Windwitch Diamond Bell!"

Both Yugo and Rin gasped looking at the huge monster, it looked as if it was made from crystals, completely white and blue, with some golden parts, ice spikes and a circular body (2800 ATK)

"And you lose another 200 Lifepoints, but I am going to chain it to Diamond Bell" Rin said,"Once Per turn after she is summoned she can target one Windwitch monster in the graveyard and burn you for half of her ATK points. And since right now my strongest would be Freeze Bell you take 600 points of damage!

A transparent Freeze Bell floated above the ground in front of Diamond Bell, she blew a breath through Freeze Bell, and another gust of wind hit Yugo.

**(Yugo: 4400)...(Rin:3800)**

"Next Diamond Bell's second effect activates, if you happen to take damage either by battle or burn I get to target one card on the field and destroy it, and I choose to destroy Clea Wing Wing!"

"Oh come on, we both know that that won't work,' Yugo said, confused at Rin's actions. "I activate Clear Wing's effect, I can negate the effect of a monster that's a Level 5 or higher and destroy it then take its attack points until the end of the turn!"

Clear Wing roared at Diamond Bell, a white aura surrounded the dragon as her eyes glowed, electricity went through Diamond Bell's body, negating her effect.

"Thanks to Snow Bell's effect, Diamond Bell can't be destroyed by card effects!" Rin said, without missing a beat. "And you still lose 200 points for Diamond bell's arrival."

**(Yugo: 4200)...(Rin:3800)**

"Oh and since I summoned Diamond Bell through Windwitches her effect can be activated twice per turn!" Rin said.

"Haaa?!" Yugo yelled.

"Bye Bye Clear Wing!" Rin said with a smirk and Diamond Bell blew a freezing breath,

"I activate my trap card Follow Wing,`` The trap card activated showing a white light with each side showing a golden wing on each side. "Now Clear Wing can't be destroyed in battle, or by card effect and if he's in battle I can destroy a level 5 or higher monster and get their attack points."

"What kind of Trap Card is that and why doesn't every self-respecting duelist have it?!"

Rin stood confidently, with a hand over her hip. "Yeah, but~," she said coyly with a finger on her chin. "Thanks to Snow Bell's effect~ my monster can't be destroyed by card effects, and thanks to Freeze Bell she can't be destroyed by battle either," she finished with a sharp smirk.

"Uh right… damn," Yugo said.

'Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit!" Grady thought looking at all the damage Rin did in one turn. "That was fucking intense!"

"Okay…" Yugo said. "That was a lot," he said panting, his breath appearing in puffs from the cold.

"You did lock me from summoning Yugo dear, you should know by now, you get no mercy from me~ and we did agree to go all out didn't we?"

Yugo sighed "Yeah, but can I please not get sick? I'm cold Rin~ How do you never get cold or sick?" Yugo whined.

Rin shrugged. "I don't know, I like the cold, guess I'm just used to it with my Windwitches."

Yugo shivered again, Grady could sympathize, he was shivering too, and he wasn't subjected to the constant cold winds or ice that was thrown over and over at Yugo.

"...Okay, tell you what," Rin said, with a smile "after this is done, we'll go buy some of that marshmallow we both like, make some hot cocoa, and we'll watch a movie together on our laptop."

"Really? Under a blanket together and have a marathon, like all the rainy nights?" Yugo asked with a hopeful grin, eyes sparkling, they hadn't had the time to do that in a long while, they've just been constantly trying to fix and upgrade their D-wheels.

Rin nodded, also looking forward to their old tradition "Of course."

"Okay deal!" Yugo yelled, excitedly. He always loved these nights the most, Rin liked candles so she bought them whenever they could spare to, and at night they would sometimes turn the lights off and burn some of these candles while the two of them talked or tried to tell spooky stories. They failed, both of them bursting to laughter most times, or just not having imagination for something spooky.

"Back to the duel then! And I still don't have enough mercy" Rin said, waking Yugo up from his thoughts. "I tune Windwitch Snowfall and Windwitch Sleet Bell!"

**(2* + 4* = 6*)**

"Winds howling through the icy lands lend me your powers, I call forth a storm to freeze those who stand in my way! Synchro Summon, Level 6, fly on in Windwitch Hail Bell!

From the rings, the Windwitch Synchro emerged. It was a young pretty girl that looked a little older than the previous witches with long white hair, the top of her head has two braids on either side of it that come together in the middle tied together with a blue bow, with a blue witch's hat, a white and blue visor, a light blue dress, with a slit on the right side. She had no shoes, but had on a black choker necklace with a small bell on it, and a long white staff . (2100 ATK)

Hail Bell floated above the ground while a small breeze and little icicles rained down softly on the field.

"Oh no no no no, not her, not now," Yugo moaned in despair knowing exactly what was coming.

Grady winced in sympathy, even if he did continue to record the duel, he had seen that monster before and despite the usually easy way to get rid of it, it does leave its mark on the opponent.

**(Yugo: 4000)...(Rin:3800)**

"I activate Hail Bell's effect, once per turn for each Windwitch monster in my graveyard my opponent is burned for 300 lifepoints. And how many monsters are in my graveyard Yugo?"

"Five…" Yugo said with despair. At this point he'd be defeated by burn effect instead of actual battle.

"Good boy, that's right, five monsters, which means~" Rin teased.

"Fuck," was Yugo's only apt reply.

Hail Bell giggled amused before raising her staff just a little bit, a few small balls of snow hit Yugo playfully, not enough to hurt, never that.

**(Yugo: 2500)...(Rin:3800)**

"Now I can attack Clear Wing but that won't do as much good, she won't be destroyed easily right? Not yet" Rin said. "So let's attack your weaker monster first shall we? Diamond Bell attack Kindama!" Rin commanded and Diamond Bell took a breath before sending icy winds at Yugo's monster.

"I don't think so! I activate Try Eyed Dice's effect!" Yugo yelled. "I can banish it from my graveyard and negate an attack!"

A transparent blue monster with three sides with an eye in each one appeared, stopping Diamond Bell in her tracks.

Rin sighed. "Guess that's to be expected," she murmured. "I end my turn.

Grady almost fell on his ass from the intensity of the duel, twists and turns he had not known that these decks can even make. It amazed and scared him, especially knowing that Rin… and possibly Yugo are Psychic duelists. Especially since he's been feeling the shifts and impacts after every attack, or even declaration.

"My turn!" Yugo said winds howled slightly and a breeze flew by making the boy shiver. The crystal eyed boy looked at the card in hand before looking at his field.

"First, my dragon will destroy Hail Bell. Go Clear Wing!" Yugo said, Clear Wing roared and her wings spread before flapping in the air, sending strong winds towards Hail Bell and destroying her, making her shatter into colorful shards.

**(Yugo: 2500)...(Rin:3400)**

"I place one card face down and end my turn," Yugo said, since destroying Hail Bell was the only thing he could do for now.

'Well that was a short turn," Grady thought. 'If things keep up, Rin might as well win this easily."

"Alright, my turn!" Rin said looking at the cards in her hand. "First I send one card from my hand to the graveyard so I can Special Summon Windwitch Cloud Bell!"

The monster looked beautiful with dark grey hair, a beauty mark under her right eye, with a white suit with grey lining and pure white short frilly skirt, with a bow on the back it, and a big bow on the collar and on the back of the white witch's hat. She wore a grey and white visor with a small white wand in her hand. (1800 ATK)

"And if she was Special or normal Summoned you take 500 points of damage, as well as the the 200 from the field," Rin said

"Don't think so Rinrin! I activate the trap card Speedroid Shuriken Hurricane!" Yugo said. "Once per turn, if a card was activated to cause me damage I can make you take that damage instead! So the 500 from Could Bell will be taken from you instead!" Yugo said as several shirikanes were sent from the trap card towards Rin making her lose 500 life points

**(Yugo: 2500)...(Rin:2900)**

"You still take 200 damage from the field!" Rin said, and a gust of wind with a few parts of snow hitting Yugo.

**(Yugo: 2300)...(Rin:2900)**

"Diamond Bell's effect activates!" Rin yelled.

"Clear Wing's effect activates, so I negate Diamond Bell's effect!" Yugo yelled back, Clear Wing roared, negating Rin's monster effect.

Both Rin and Yugo were panting and smirking, almost on the verge of laughing, both of them very excited from the duel, gaining a big adrenaline rush.

"This is amazing Rin," Yugo said, between breaths, "Absolutely stunning, keeping me on my toes."

"Yeah, you're no slush yourself Yugo," Rin said with a grin. "That's the power I wanna see from you, always."

"Eheh," Yugo grind.

"Well, my turn is not over yet!" Rin said. "And maybe I should finally destroy your biggest monster with Follow Wing out of the way!" Rin said "Go Diamond Bell! Attack Clear Wing!" Diamond Bell seemed to take a breath before glowing and aiming her attack at Yugo's Dragon.

"I activate the Trap Card burning Sonic!" Yugo said cut in.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me," Rin sighed.

"You know what this means Rin, your attack is negated and Clear Wing gets 500 power boost," Yugo said and Clear Wing roared as her power increased (2500-)3000 ATK)

"And Speedroid Hurricane Shuriken second effect activates, if the attack of a monster on the field changes I can burn you for that amount of points so that's another 500 from you Rin~" Yugo purred.

**(Yugo: 2300)...(Rin:2400)**

Rin groaned playfully "I place one card face down and end my turn," she said.

"My turn, I draw!" Yugo said, drawing a card and smiling at it.

"Okay then Clear Wing go! Attack Cloud Bell!"

Clear Wing roared and spread her wings before launching an attack on the smaller monster

"I activate the Trap Card wabbuki!" Rin declared, and the Trap Card revealed itself with three women that looked like they were praying. An invisible shield materialized stopping Clear Wing from destroying her monster.

"Ahh," Yugo sighed in disappointment. "Oh well, I end my turn, your move Rin~" Yugo

"Okay," Rin said with a nod, "My turn! I draw," she said drawing a card and blinking before looking at her field, then glancing at her duel desk, and specifically her Extra Deck, her eyes widened as she got an idea.

""Right, I think I got it!" Rin said with a big smile.

Yugo blinke. "Got what?" the crystal eyed boy asked.

"Since I only have Windwitches on the field I get to Normal Summon Blizzard Bell without Tributing!" Rin said, summoning the larger looking gold white and blue bell to the field (1800, LV 5, Tuner)

"Okay, but you have a Level 5 Tuner, and you have no monster past Level 9 though Rin," Yugo said.

'She has a level 9?" Grady questioned, blinking, je had never seen her summon that monster before, how powerful was it? How much was Rin holding back on summoning it?

"I'm not Synchro Summoning, I think I know what to do for one of my new cards," Rin said with a grin, her heart was hammering in her chest, excited to finally try and summon something completely new.

"Really?!" Yugo asked excitedly, he couldn't wait to see what Rin's new monsters could do.

"Well I think so," Rin replied, hesitating a little bit, her hands shaking slightly.

"Okay! Let's see it, let's see it, let's see it!" Yugo cheared, jumping up and down.

"Right, first, my Field Spell activates and you lose 200 life points," once more a small breeze

**(Yugo: 2300)...(Rin:2400)**

Yugo groaned as more cold wind hit him, but he was still very excited to see what Rin would do.

Needless to say, Grady was lost, but… if Rin wasn't planning on Synchro Summoning, then what? Could she… could she be getting ready to do that summoning Armstrong talked about? What was it? Hu...Fu… Fusi-ion summoning? He wasn't sure.

Grady readied himself for whatever was about to happen and narrowed his eyes to focus completely on what was about to happen.

"Okay so…" Rin said, looking intently at her Duel Desk. "I use my two Windwitch Monsters together and um… Xyz, summon...level 5? Windwitch Helleborus Bell …" she said unsure.

"A what? What's an Xyz?"

She grabbed the two monsters and… placed them in the graveyard, then grabbed the new black card and pressed it to the Duel Desk… nothing happened. She pressed it over and over again, and still, nothing happened.

"Ugh!" Rin said annoyed, with a worried expression on her face, and tried again and again with no result.

"What's wrong?" Yugo asked, confused.

"It's not working," Rin said as she kept pressing the card to the Duel Desk.

"What do you mean it's not working?" Yugo asked. "The other cards did, right?"

"Yeah the other cards did, this doesn't…" Rin said in a frustrated tone.

"Maybe you did something wrong," Yugo suggested.

"Maybe… maybe the cards don't go to the graveyard?"

"Well, where else would they go?" Yugo questions just as lost as Rin "Maybe… maybe we should stop," he suggested.

"What?!" Rin asked. "We can't just stop, we're in the middle of a duel."

"Well you just tried summoning something and it didn't work, so you did something wrong for sure, and you just sent two Windwitches to the graveyard for nothing, so that's basically like cheating right?"

Rin sighed. "Yeah you have a point," Rin said, as she removed her cards from the Duel Desk, the holograms disappeared as the cards were shuffled back to the decks, Rin grabbed the card that she failed to summon, looking at it intently and in disappointment.

Yugo rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry," he said.

Rin gave him a soft smile and shook her head. "Don't worry about it," she reassured him, placing the card back in her Extra deck. She walked closer to Yugo who also turned his Duel Desk off, and gave him another kiss on his lips. "Come on, let's get us something to eat, and I did promise you some hot cocoa."

"Yaho~" Yugo cheered, making Rin giggle at how adorable Yugo was.

Yugo watched Rin for a moment, his heart beating fast looking at her beautiful smile, without thinking he pulled Rin to him and gave her a deep kiss. Rin's eyes widened in surprise, not having anticipated Yugo making an actual move on her, before smiling and kissing him back happily, relaxing in his arms.

"What was that for?" Rin asked with a breathless laugh as she broke the kiss slowly.

Yugo blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "I… I just wanted to do it, that's all if you don't like it-"

"I like it, Yugo. You can kiss me like that whenever you want, silly," Rin reassured him sweetly, making Yugo grin wider. "Now come on then, let's go home, I'll figure the new cards later."

"Right," Yugo said with a nod, following Rin to their D-Wheels eagerly, and they rode them back to the city.

Grady watched as the two of them left, something felt off. Rin having powers over ice was bad enough after all, but her having some strange summoning Method called Xoz or whatever certainly was bad, where did she even get them? If she was affiliated with someone from the Tops then she and certainly her boyfriend would not be living in the Commons. But still, who would even get her these cards? He had to talk with the others, Armstrong and Carly in particular. Armstrong might have heard about this; he did know about Fusion after all.

Trying to get rid of the migraine that was forming, Grady stopped the recording and gave a quick text to Carly and Armstrong to meet up later. This was not something he wanted to bring up in public and he knew Randsborg and Yanagi were still up to their waists with information about the Monarchs.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

"An Xyz summon? Never heard of it," Armstrong answered.

Grady had called both Armstong and Carly, gathering once more at the Bootleg bar, looking like it never experienced the hell that was the Shinigami arriving last night. Grady had told them what had happened in the duel, and how powerful Yugo's cards were, along with showing off the recording he made.

 _"Of course they were, why do you think Sector Security had such a hard time catching the kid?"_ Armstrong had replied when Grady tried to describe his amazement at the duel.

"Then Rin tried to summon another monster, I'm not sure what the requirements were, but I think they have something to do with Levels being the same, at least that's what I gathered from Rin changing the Level of one Monster to be the same as the other," Grady explained.

"Hmm…" Armstrong muttered. He never heard anything about his before and he highly doubted anyone _else_ did either. So why exactly did Rin have these cards? Better yet _who_ in their right mind would give them to her? What was so special about that girl? Well, aside from the ice thing, but there are plenty of Psychic Duelists around, and they didn't seem to have anything other than Synchro, not even the asshole Divine himself.

"Shouldn't we be telling all this to the Monarchs?" Carly asked.

"They're still busy with the Crimson Dragon research with Yanagi and Randsborgh, remember?" Grady reminded her. "I bet they're having a lot of fun right about now."

…

…

...

"Who the hell gave Yusei coffee?!" Crow exclaimed as he, Jack, and Kiryu were pinning Yusei to the floor of the living room.

"Is it that bad?" asked Yanagi, tilting his head.

"Yes! Yusei and caffeine mean disaster!" Jack answered.

"Havetoworkhavetoworkhavetowork…" Yusei said, scrambling to get his boyfriends off of him.

"We're gonna be spending all night wearing him down!" Kalin sighed. "WHO THE HELL GAVE HIM COFFEE?!

"It wasn't me!" Yanagi said. "Randsborg decided to make refreshments for us and left a mug by Yusei's desk…."

"RANDSBORGH!" Jack shouted at the knight who was currently putting cream in his own mug.

"Um...I am...sorry?" Randsborgh said. There was a pause before he added, "How was I supposed to know the Stardust Accelerator reacted like _this_ to caffeine?!"

Jack had to facepalm. "Ugh, fine, just let him work. He'll crash eventually, and we'd probably get more work done."

"I... don't think that's healthy," Yanagi said.

"Damage already done, might as well let the caffeine do the work for us," Crow mumbled. "We just have to compensate with a lot of water and food later."

"I could ask the other Crusaders to pick up something," said Randsborgh. "Is there anything Yusei likes? Crab perhaps?"

"Oh ha-ha very funny," Kalin rolled his eyes. How many times were people going to make fun of Yusei's hair, he lost count. "Something with rice would be fine. His diet isn't made of just instant ramen and coffee like a _certain_ someone here."

"Hey I've finally learned how to poach eggs, you know!" Jack answered.

"… Very well," said Randsborgh, pulling out his phone and typing something.

…

…

...

"Besides, if they sent Security to the Commons where they would try to arrest two kids who, as far as anyone knows did nothing wrong, then there'll be a backlash against them," Armstrong said. "We can tell them later, but they probably can't do a thing about it."

"We should keep that in mind," said Carly. "And Grady, keep that footage safe; if that leaks out to the public, it's off with your head."

"Yeah sure thing, don't want Arcadia or Security to see any of it or it could get back to the wrong people," Grady agreed.

"Right," Carly said as she looked at her phone and read Randsborgh's message. "Oh, that's swell."

"Did they learn anything new?" asked Armstrong.

"Yeah, _never_ give Yusei caffeine," Carly answered. "Speaking of which we should pick some food for him."

"I'll take care of it," Grady raising a hand volunteering "You've got stuff to research and after what happened yesterday, Armstrong's presence is gonna make things awkward."

"Does it involve milk?" Armstrong joked.

"Yes in fact," Grady said, rolling his eyes. "Probably will get him a curry too. As long as he has something in his system, then the caffeine jitters should eventually stop," and stood up and left the bar.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Rin poured the hot cocoa to the two cups, sprinkled mini marshmallows on top, and headed for the couch, placing the two cups on the table and sat on the couch, and Yugo as he started the movie on the small laptop that they owned.

Rin placed a big blanket around the two of them, then kissed Yugo's cheek and took her cup in her hand, Yugo did the same, and Rin leaned comfortably on him, and the both of them spent the night watching movies until both of them fell asleep on top of each other.

…

…

…

"I can't believe you," Ruri said with a small laugh.

"Yeah, yeah go ahead get it out of your system," Rin said rolling her eyes.

"Oh come on Rin, I told you how to do an Xyz summon," Ruri said.

"Yeah, so I forgot how to Xyz summon, sue me," Rin answered.

"I told you how," Ruri pointed out, still having amusement in her voice.

"Once!" Rin replied a little frustrated but did calm down when she saw Ruri simply having a gentle smile, telling her the other girl was joking with her. After Rin fell asleep she came back to this place in her… their minds, and told them about the duel. Ruri immediately gently teased her about forgetting how to Xyz when she had explained how to do it to Rin directly.

"For someone who didn't have any classes I think you did pretty well," Yuzu said, bringing the attention to herself. "I knew some students who kept struggling with not just Xyz but Fusion and Synchro summonings too."

"That sounds a little extreme," Rin said, raising an eyebrow.

"Pathetic if you asked me," Serena interjected.

Yuzu shrugged. "And before Yuya's 'big brother' and his friends came in, my dad was always going on and on about how the other summoning methods were 'too difficult' to teach, though to be fair, his deck didn't allow him to perform many summoning with and he used to be the only teacher in the school."

"You have Duel Schools?" Rin asked.

"Yeah, doesn't Synchro?" Yuzu asked.

"We have one too," Ruri told them. "Well… had _one…_ " She said grabbing her wrest and looking away. "We had so much fun until Academia attacked…"

Serena had the decency to look guilty at wanting to attack the Xyz dimension, to get the Professor's attention. It was still a sour spot that filled her with anger.

"So Rin, what do you think of the cards?" Ray asked.

"Well they can be good, I'm just not sure how to use them yet," Rin answered.

"You will in time," Ray said, "You just need to find the balance."

"Right…" Rin sighed looking at her cards.

"I have an idea, we can duel each other and give each other pointers about using the summoning methods, after all, this is the best way to use our time here, to keep training against each other," Ruri suggested.

"That does sound good," Yuzu said with a nod.

"Alright then, to make this little tournament more interesting you each have to use at least 2 Summoning Methods that use the extra deck, if you use all three you get 3 points, if you use a method that's not your own twice that's an extra two points, win the duel and that's 5 points," Ray suggested.

"Doesn't that put Yuzu on a bigger advantage with her _not_ using any Extra deck summoning?" Rin asked.

"No, since she does need to use all three methods, and sometimes that's harder than winning a duel."

The four girls exchanged looks and nodded at Ray before spreading into two groups and getting their decks out and began to duel and train.

…

…

...

"Ugh," Yuzu groaned as she failed to summon another monster.

"Yuzu… seriously," Rin said deadpanned, almost facepalming.

"It's not that easy!" Yuzu tried to defend herself.

"Yuzu…" Rin began, "Five-year-olds can tell you 4+4 does not equal 7, and this," she said grabbing Aria the Melodious Diva. "Is not a _Tuner."_

Yuzu sighed. "I can stick to Xyz and Fusion, for now, my fusions seem to be the strongest."

"The most annoying you mean?"

"Oh, this is coming from the girl who burned half of our life points off and kept doing it every single turn?"

"Hey, Ruri's birds kept attacking us directly," Rin reputed.

"Oh come on, my birds are low on attack point-"

"That's enough, girls, this only shows how crafty and unique each deck is, annoying or not, you have to always anticipate the other players' movements and try to counter it, don't always focus on what you have, think about what the other person could have or do, this is not a one-person game, girls, so never rely on your opponent to do something, rely on your own craftiness, am I clear."

The girls nodded, "Yes," they answered.

"Good, I think this is enough for now, there is always room for improvement, and you have to remember the other methods are there to give you more options on how to handle certain citations, but if they don't suit you, then you don't have to use them, understood?"

"Understood," Yuzu answered and the three nodded.

"Ruri, I can see that it's still quite hard for you to use Fusion," Ray pointed out.

Ruri looked away, clearly still uncomfortable and quite angry.

"Yes, I…"

"It's alright," Ray said. "I understand the memories that are associated with that summoning method, but you have to remember, Fusion is a tool, as much as Xyz is, you might not be ready to use it, but when you do unleash your anger on them, turn their weapon against them and show them what you can really do."

Ruri nodded, she didn't want to use Fusion, after all the destruction and suffering Academia had put her, her friends, and her dimension through, Xyz summoning had become a shield, a protection from the evils Fusion brought she would gladly tare the card into little pieces, but if the time ever came to use it, she had to remember that it wasn't the method that she should be angry at, it's the people, those who think they're better than everyone else simply because they are proficient in Fusion, those who would destroy all that's around them, happily harm and hurt innocent people simply for a show of power.

"I understand," Ruri said with a nod. Well, she didn't have to put Polymerization in her deck, she hoped that she'd never had to use that card in her life, but if push came to shove, and she had nothing else she would do it.

Yuzu placed her hand on Ruri's arm, Ruri looked at the other girl, giving her an encouraging smile, making Ruri relax and smile softly back at her, and nodded telling the other girl that she was okay.

One by one the girls disappeared and woke up back where they had fallen asleep. Rin woke up and stretched, having fallen asleep on Yugo's chest, she smiled and placed a kiss on Yugo's cheek, then head to the kitchen to make them both some breakfast, she wondered what they could do today, as the Tournament Finals will be in a few days, and even if she was in the second place she pretty much scored herself a place in the Friendship Cup. And if she and Yugo ever fought each other then him entering will be good as well, she searched through the small fridge and got out a few eggs and started making do with boiling some eggs, some buttered bread, and started to make some tea, something simple, but still good. Yugo seemed to wake up as she was slicing the boiled eggs.

"Morning," Yugo said, sounding half asleep, Rin looked back at him to see him covering a yawn. Rin smiled and continued to prepare the two of them breakfast. She heard Yugo's footsteps as he walked towards her and wrapped his arms around her waist, making Rin turn her head just as Yugo leaned down and placed a kiss between her shoulder blades making her gasp softly. Yugo's lips trailed up and placed another kiss on Rin's neck.

Rin's hand reached back running her hand through Yugo's hair, smiling. "As much as I like this Yugo, can you help me finish breakfast?" she asked.

"Of course my Crystal Rose, " Yugo said, pressing another kiss to Rin's cheek.

"Your Crystal Rose?" Rin asked, placing the knife down and turning around to face Yugo. The crystal eyed boy, placing his hands on the counter on either side of Rin.

"You don't like it?" Yugo asked with a grin and Rin wrapped her arms around Yugo's neck.

"No, I think I really like it," Rin answered and pressed herself to Yugo more, placing a kiss on his lips, making Yugo wrap his hands around her and hug her closer. To the two of them, nothing could ruin that moment, nothing can ever pull them apart, and they will face everything and win.


	9. On With The Show

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're back, hi guys, nothing too major about the news, just a nice chapter in Standard. 
> 
> We hope you have fun.

It was late at night as Yuya sat at his desk, finishing his homework before putting them aside and sighing, head in his hands. After a few seconds of silence, he looked up the poster on his bed with his dad on it, smiling confidently, entertaining everyone. 

Yusho Sakaki always made people smile, made them happy, put his heart and soul into each and every step and word he shouted. He loved his job and fans, his friends and his family, Yuya had no doubt about that. He was Yuya’s hero, the reason he wanted to be a Dueltainer too, because he wanted people to feel what he felt when his father would perform, to spread smiles to others. 

For the past three years, Yuya often wondered where his dad disappeared to, if he was okay, and what motivated him to just vanish like that. No one could tell him what happened to his father, not even his mother. And so Yuya decided to try and duel like his father would, to keep his memory in people’s minds alive, to feel closer to his father. It was difficult, of course it would, but his dad didn’t give up and neither would Yuya.

Yuya knew his father wasn’t a coward, but because of his disappearance people just labeled him so as if forgetting everything that he’d done before, all the entertainment, all the enjoyment, and all Yuya wanted was to keep them reminded of how great his father was. It’s why he wanted to duel like his father, but over and over again, he failed. He wanted to be a great duelist and he wanted to keep his father’s legacy alive, and while Shuzo, Joey and the others were helping with the school itself, people still look at Yusho as a coward, and Yuya hated that.

So instead he became preoccupied with entertaining others over winning a duel. Win or lose, as long as the audience had fun then that was okay. Just seeing people smile and laugh was more important than a victory. 

_‘...But should that really be my priority?’_ A thought went through his head. _‘I tried so much and people can’t see it my way. Maybe if I win, maybe if I keep winning they’ll see.’_

Yuya took his deck and reached for Odd-Eyes Dragon, his most precious card, his favorite Dragon and sighed.  _ ‘But am I good enough? Am I strong enough? And even if I was, how could I prove it to people, show them what I can really do? I still want to entertain them, to see them smile.’ _

_ ‘But copying dad's dueling doesn’t work.” _

_ “No, it really doesn’t,”  _ Yuya agreed.

He blinked as he sat up, staring at Odd-Eyes and filled with a fire he hadn’t felt in a long time.  _ ‘I should find my own way to duel…’ _

Back and forth the mental battle continued, with Yuya wanting many different things yet unable to compromise with himself on what to do. He looked at the cards in his deck deciding what to add and what to remove several times over, by the fourth time he finished but he really wasn’t satisfied with what he had inside it, he might need to buy more cards tomorrow. 

Yuya took his phone out, laid on his bed and texted Yuzu. 

_ PreformaYuyal :Hey, wanna head with me to buy some new cards after school tomorrow? _

He hit send and gave a sigh, shifting through some apps on his phone until Yuzu sent a text back, it didn’t take more than a few seconds for her to reply back. 

_ MelodyYuzu:Sure. It would be a good idea for me too.  _

_ PreformaYuyal:Great, see ya tomorrow.  _

_ MelodyYuzu:See ya.  _

Yuya smiled, a sense of ease washing over him. A week ago he could feel that something was off, feeling like he was being watched, and the sense of panic he felt in that second made him want to go see if Yuzu was alright. She was, to his great relief, but she started acting a bit...different. While Yuzu prided herself on being a good duelist, Yuya had never seen her become as detected as she had became after that day, trying to constantly come up with new strategies, and continuously changing cards in and out of her deck, but he couldn't remember seeing the last time she dueled someone, not even him or Gongenzaka. 

Speaking of, the older boy was worried about Yuzu as well, she did seem like the same girl most of the time, cheery and happy, but in small moments they could see a worry in Yuzu’s eyes, a calculated look, and a big focus on the way others duel than on the duel itself. They had asked her if something was wrong, but she kept smiling and reassuring them that everything was okay, and that she was trying something new but she refused to tell them what it was. 

Yuya gave a sigh and yawned, putting his phone in the charger and turning the lights off and just collapsed in his bed.

  
  


**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Yuya waved at Yuzu as they met while walking to school. Yuzu gave the red eyed boy a smile as they headed to the gates. 

“Are you looking for any specific cards Yuya?” Yuzu asked, as the conversation shifted around. 

Yuya sighed, grabbing his deck. “No, I’m just… trying to update my deck, I’m just… not sure how, something seems missing from it.”

“Maybe you should try something like Extra deck summoning? I’m sure our friends can give you some pointers.” 

“Maybe, but I don’t think my deck is consistent enough for it, and I don’t think that there are any extra deck Performapals around,” Yuya answered, putting his deck back in his pocket. 

“Yeah, you do have a point,” Yuzu conceded with a nod. Performapals was Yuya’s deck, and he’d had it since he was a kid. The colorful animals and their creative effects gave for some entertaining combos, and had always managed to bring smiles to her, Yuya and Gongenzaka. Back when winning wasn’t all that important, she missed those times.

She would give anything to go back there, no dimensions or war, or a crazy megalomaniac who wages war on other dimensions for his own selfish reasons.

Yuzu clinched her hands in anger, she wasn’t aware of anything but her fear and anger for a few seconds before Yuya grabbed her attention back to him. 

“Hey, earth to Yuzu, where did you go off to this time?” 

Yuzu blinked but shrugged her shoulders. “Just thinking that’s all, I’m also working on improving my deck ya know.

“Yeah, so are you ever gonna show us? Like come on duel  _ me, _ I promise to take the duel seriously, no happy hippos unless necessary.” 

Yuzu snorted. “That is tempting,” she teased. “Alright, after you’re sure about your deck, the two of us can have a duel, I do need to test my cards against other people.” 

“Oh, so glad to be regulated to ‘other people now’” Yuya teased back, and Yuzu elbowed him slightly in the chest making him laugh.

…

…

…

The school day went as normal, well, this time with both Yuzu and Yuya getting distracted over their own situations. Both of them got reprimanded and were told to focus on the lesson but other than that things were fine.

Yuya and Yuzu headed out at the end of the school day to their favorite Game Shop, meeting up with Gogenzaka, who thought that it was a great idea, and getting good cards can never be a waste. The shop was a cute place in a nice neighborhood, and while it was small, it had the best booster packs and best cards. As Yuya was discussing what would go best with the Performapals -- seeing as they were all about changing the ATK/DEF of monsters -- Yuzu was looking at cards that would help support Fusion and Xyz summoning. 

“You alright Yuzu?” asked Gongenzaka. “You usually get Fairy and Light support.”

“I do, but I wanted to try something new,” Yuzu answered. “Joey, Mana and Yugi use Extra Deck Summoning and I want to try it for myself.”

“Didn’t your dad say --”

“Yeah he did say that they are ‘too difficult’. But I decided to try it anyway.”

“So which is it? Xyz or Fusion? Do Melodious Monsters even have Extra Deck monsters?” Yuya asked. 

“Well, I’m actually not sure, I think I might try both methods,” Yuzu answered. 

“Both?” Gogenzaka asked. “That might be far too difficult don’t you think?” 

“Yeah, like, depending on which method you go with there are cards that support these methods, but if you mix them together you might get cards that brick in your hands and that might make the deck weak or useless wouldn’t it?” Yuya added.

“Well you do have a point, but Joey, Mana and Atem use multiple Extra Deck summonings and that hasn’t stopped  _ them.  _ I mean, Reiji himself uses different Extra Deck summonings and Atem beat him fair and square! Why shouldn’t I try to be better?”

“Yeah but Reiji’s monsters are  _ made  _ to swarm the field and get every kind of summoning out.”

“And you’re saying the Melodious monsters can’t do that?”

“Well, no, but...”

“Yuya, the Melodious monsters are  _ made  _ to swarm the field. And many of them are Level 4, so they’re  _ perfect  _ for Xyz summoning. And most of the time all people need to Fusion Summon is a single Polymerization card, right? And if not, aren’t there monsters that are essentially Polymerization?”

“Uh…”

“...There are?” Gongenzaka asked the person behind the counter.

“Uh… yes some archetypes do have them, not all, and some cards are used to substitute for fusion materials,” They said.

“You’ve really been studying these things a lot, huh Yuzu?” asked Yuya. “Where did you find all this information? Were you sneaking off to Leo Duel School when we weren’t looking?”

Yuzu froze before snorting. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

“Yeah we kinda would,” Yuya said with a smirk. 

“It does still present the question of you balancing the deck out,” Gongenzaka brought up. “For example, if you use a card that can only be used for a Fusion Support and yet all you have is Xyz monsters on the field, that would make the card quite useless in your hand wouldn’t it?” 

“The opposite would be true too,” Yuya said. “If you had Fusion monsters yet the only card in your hand was Xyz support. I mean, it’s not like there are cards that can be both...right?”

The person behind the counter shrugged.

“It’s gonna take a lot of trial and error,” Yuzu said with a nod, and sighed. “Mixing supports could be a hindrance but it also can give me more options.”

“In that case you would have to rely on monster effects most of all and only use spell and trap Support that can be used for other summons as well,” Gogenzaka reasoned. 

“Or, you can rely on one summoning method more than the other. Like your monsters are pretty great for swarming and you can get an Xyz out pretty quick like you said, so make your deck more Xyz reliant, and easy recovery with fusion as a backup, with little to no support for it in your deck,” Yuya suggested. 

“Hmm, that might be a good idea, but what if my Fusion cards are better than my Xyz?” Yuzu asked.

“Then why use Xyz at all if that’s the case? If you wanna focus on Fusion then there are cards to search Polymerization to your hand, cards that can retrieve it back, monsters that can be stand-ins for monsters you need. The same can be with Xyz: cards can change levels, ranks, Special Summon and turn to different levels that Fusion just doesn’t need,” Yuya said, and Yuzu groaned, they do have a point, which method should she focus on more? And which support should she rely on?

“Ugh this is harder than I thought,” she muttered. “I’m not actually sure what’s best to use,” she confessed. 

_ If it helps... _ Ray whispered in her mind.  _ Recall that Ruri is bringing Shun and Yuto to Standard soon. You need to obtain Yuto and Shun’s trust and showing off Xyz would be the right way to do it.  _

_ Really?  _ Yuzu thought.

_ Yes, and if I recall, those ‘mentors’ of yours specialize in Xyz. It really is simple to Xyz Summon with all the Level 4 monsters in your deck. For now, just focus on Xyz Summoning and retrieval and leave Fusion Summoning to when you could need it. _

Yuzu thought hard. That’s right Mana just showcased her new Xyz monster against Shingo, and she’s seen Yugi with his Illusion monsters pull off things that she’d never seen before. She knows that most Xyz summoners need some special card to bring in higher rank monsters; all Yugi had to do was change the attribute of one monster and that Rank 4 becomes a Rank 6. And her Fusion monsters don’t need a lot of Support; if she can get Polymerization to her hand, she can get an easy enough Fusion monster and a Melodious Maestra to get the really strong Fusions. In that cause she would focus on playing with the Level 4 Melodious monsters more with maybe a copy of each Maestra in the deck. That did sound like a good plan.

“Excuse me,” Yuzu said to the counter person. “Can you point me to any good Xyz support?” 

“So you choose Xyz Summoning then?” Gogenzaka asked.

“Well, more I’m doing the third option and relying on Xyz more, but leaving some room for Fusion Summoning if things go wrong,” Yuzu answered.

“Okay that’s good but, do you  _ have  _ any actual Xyz or Fusion Monsters?” Yuya asked.

“As a matter of fact, I do.”

“What?! You do?!” Both of the boys asked.

Yuzu giggled. “Of course I do.”

“Where did you get them?” asked Yuya.

“Oh, I had to do a  _ lot _ of searching to find them, they’re pretty rare but I did eventually,” Yuzu replied. 

“Is that part of the secrets you’ve been keeping?”

“Yeah pretty much,” Yuzu said, “Look I know I’ve been acting weird for a while and I know you two have been worried about me, but it’s fine. I was just trying to be a better duelist and this was the best way I thought of. I want to get strong to help you out, Yuya. If I learned more summoning methods and combined them with what Yusho taught us, perhaps we could open up an entire  _ world _ of possibilities.” 

“That… really does sound amazing Yuzu, you’re really amazing!” Yuya said with a big bright smile on his face.

Yuzu smiled back. Seeing Yuya smile made her even more motivated to help become stronger. “So what about the two of you?”

“Hmm,” Yuya though. “Honestly I’m not sure yet, again, it’s pretty hard to get a lot of consistent strategies with my performapals. I could try Fusion Summoning though, I think I heard of some Performapal and Odd-Eyes Fusions.” 

“I the man, Gongenzaka, will have to think about it,” Gongenzaka replied. “However, I will absolutely have to omit the use of Fusion Summoning since it will go against my deck.”

“Maybe Synchro Summoning could work?” said Yuzu. “All you need are Tuner monsters and seeing as many of your Superheavy monsters act like Spell and Trap cards, then it’ll be easy to work around.”

“Could be, but I’m going to need someone to tutor me in that regard, and find tuners for my deck.”

“If you’re sure that that’s what you want then you might find Superheavy Samurai Synchro cards here,” Yuya suggested. “I mean we all know that you need two monsters on the field right?”

“Yeah, it’s only Fusion that requires very specific materials, the stronger the Fusion the more specific or the more material that you need,” Yuzu said.“Then Synchro you have a Tuner and a non-Tuner monsters with levels add up. Xyz, is mostly down to levels.

“Okay, let's search then,” Yuya said with a nod and the three of them checked out packs that Leo Corp. and Industrial Illusions websites informed them with the cards needed. Both companies had come to an agreement to help promote the art of Duel Monsters, with Leo Corp. suddenly showing off Extra Deck summonings that, back then, no one had ever heard about. Since then, many schools have tried their hands in teaching students Fusion, Synchro and Xyz summoning but only Leo Corp. did all three (You Show focusing on the spectacle of the Duel so it only had Tribute Summoning until, Mana and Joey arrived and began teaching Xyz and Fusion). 

The two companies had come to an agreement that Industrial Illusions would be responsible for creating monster archetypes while the extra deck monsters would be the responsibility of Leo Corp. Along with the consulting of Industrial Illusions specific employees in order to keep the decks synergized. Pegasus was known to have an eye for finding t 

Each of them bought several packs and headed to You Show. By then, Shuzo, Joey and Mana along with several students were there, and the classes had begun. While You Show was not as popular as LDS, they had a good amount of students, happy and eager to learn how to become great entertainers and duelists. To them, it didn’t matter about how powerful a card was or about seizing victory; what matter was winning the hearts of the audience. They were taught to be the best they could be, but never be cruel and never to have winning be the primal goal, but to have fun, and give others a reason to smile. 

“Well, look who’s finally here!” Mana said, greeting the three. 

“Hey Mana, how are the classes going?” Yuya asked. 

“Oh pretty good, these kids have the talent for this! they’ll do great with some more training,” she said with a big smile. Yuzu and Yuya smiled widely and waved at the kids in the class room, who waved back at them with a smile. 

“So, what have you been up to?” Mana asked. 

“The three of us bought new booster packs and wanted to see what we could use to make our decks better,” Yuya answered. 

“Really now?” Mana said with a squee. “Oh I know what this calls for!”

“A demonstration!” A young girl with red hair and golden eyes squealed.

“That’s right, Ayu!” Mana giggled.

“Well we’d love to, but we do have to construct our decks first, cause we were uh… planning to change a lot of things about them,” Yuzu said. 

“Change? What do you mean?” Mana asked, tilting her head. Then she gasped. “You’re not getting new archetypes are you?” she asked with wide eyes. 

“Oh no, not at all!” Yuya reassured her. “Yuzu wanted to try and use Xyz and Fusion Summoning in her deck, and we discussed it and agreed maybe we should try upgrading our decks too.” 

“I want to see Yuzu nee-san use new summoning methods!” Ayu said, and so did many of the students there.

“It’ll give me shivers!” Ayu’s companion, a slightly tubby boy with yellow hair added.

“Maybe another time,” said Yuzu. “After all, you can’t expect to master a new technique in one day, right? It requires practice, hard work and dedication, so you kids need to promise me that you’re training hard too.”

“We promise~” The children said, grinning at Yuzu who smiled back at them. 

“I wanna see what you guys got,” Mana begged.

“Okay, we can wait for you until the classes are over,” Yuya said. 

“Wohoo! This should be fun,” Mana said before returning back to the class she was teaching. Yuya, Yuzu and Gogenzaka headed for the main room in the building and sat on the couches. Yuya headed for the mini fridge and brought sodas for the three of them. When Shuzu’s familiar voice rang in the three’s ears 

“Yuya!!!” Shuzu yelled, slamming the door open and looking in panic at the red eyed boy. The three teenagers blinked at Shuzo’s strange behavior.

“Dad, what’s going on?” Yuzu asked, confused. 

“Someone important is requesting for you,” Shuzu explained in a hurry.

“Who could that be?” Yuya asked before Shuzo moved away with a sigh and a strange man with a mustache and striped yellow and black suit with red glasses came in. 

“Hello there,” The man said with a very wide grin on his face. “The name’s Nico Smiley. And you young man must be Yuya Sakaki,” he said, rubbing his hands together.

“Uh...yeah...hi?” asked Yuya.

“Well it’s good that I have found you my boy, you see, I’ve come to ask for a favor,” Nico said. “Yuya Sakaki, how would you like to showcase your dueling skills against the First Regional Champion of Miami City.”

“WHAAAAAAT?!!!!”

…

…

…

“You want me to duel Strong Ishijima?” Yuya gasped when the five were in Shuzo’s office.. 

“Why yes,” Nico said. “You see, three years ago your father was supposed to challenge him for the Championship...but of course we all knew what happened.”

“Yeah okay, two questions, why would Yuya accept that and what’s in it for you?” asked Yuzu. 

“Why it would be a good way to clean up Yusho Sakaki’s good name after all!” Nico answered. “The Champion versus the child of Yusho Sakaki, the boy wishing to prove that he’s not a coward and to clear his father’s good name to bring smiles onto people’s faces!” Nico sighed. “It just touches my heart so for Yuya to try and take the title his father did not have the chance to duel for!”

“... So this is a PR scheme?” Yuzu asked, crossing her arms and glaring at the man.

“Oh no, not at all,” Nico replied. “I am simply here from all the goodness of my heart trying to give the boy a chance to clear his father’s name!”

Gongenzaka frowned. “I, the man Gongenzaka, am not convinced.” In fact no one was. 

“He also said that if Yuya won, Leo Corp. will throw in a new Solid Vision System for free,” Shuzo said.

“And you accepted?!” Yuzu exclaimed. “Do we even need a new one?” She asked frustrated. 

“With the new influx of students coming in, it’s best that we have top quality equipment, as well as Leo Corp having the mobile version on the way it would be best to save as much money as we can, if we want to keep these students then we need to remodel, rebuild and get new working Solid Vision Systems.”

“Dad!” Yuzu yelled. 

“Listen, the choice is gonna be up to Yuya if he wants to or not,” said Shuzo. “But still, the benefits are just too hard to resi-OWWW!”

Yuzu held onto the  _ harisen _ tightly with flames of rage flying around her making Shuzo and Nico Smiley shrink back. 

Yuya placed his hand on Yuzu’s shoulder startling her as she looked back at Yuya with a small sad smile on his face, if a grateful one. “Thanks for the offer,” he told the manager, giving him a brighter smile. “I’ll have to think about it though.”

“Why of course dear boy, here’s my number,” Nico Smiley said, handing Yuya his business card. “Call me with a decision tomorrow at the latest.

“Sure thing,” Yuya said, looking at the card, lost in thought. 

“Well then I wish you all good luck,” the man said and left the room, heading back to his car. 

Yuya gave a tired sigh and crashed back on the couch placing his goggles down his eyes.

“You okay Yuya?” Yuzu asked, sitting beside him, and gently grabbing his hand. 

“Yeah, I’m okay,” Yuya said, looking at where Yuzu’s hand is, his heart skipping a small beat. 

“You do not have to accept this offer Yuya,” Gongenzaka reassured. 

“Yeah but… I think I want to,” Yuya answered. 

“Really?” Yuzu asked. 

“Yeah I mean, I’ve always wanted to show people that my dad wasn’t a coward, remind everyone how amazing Dueltaining is.If I did this then maybe…” 

Yuzu nodded in understanding. 

“Yuya,” Shuzo said. “I hope you know that I’m not pressuring you into this. That--”

“I know,” Yuya said with a grin, placing his goggles back over his head. “No need to worry, uncle. I’ll just show everyone what my monsters can really do.”

“...Okay then,” Shuzo nodded. It was Yuya’s choice after all. 

…

…

…

The classes were over, as Yuya told Mana and Joey about what had just happened. The two dulists had their jaws fall to the floor in shock.

“I mean Yuya are… are you sure?” Joey asked. 

“Yeah I mean with what happened with your dad and all, the crowd might not be kind,” Mana pointed out a little worried. 

“Yeah I am, if I do this, and if I win, I can remove the stain from my dad’s record, and remind people how good his Dueltaining was, that it’ll never go away, wherever dad had gone off to.” 

“Well if that’s how you feel,” Joey said grinning, “We’re right behind you in this!”

“Really?” Yuya said grinning. 

“You bet!” Mana said grinning as well and nodding. “We’ll even help you train and build your deck!”

“I, the man Gongenzaka shall help as well!” 

“So will I,” Yuzu said confidently smiling encouragingly at Yuya. 

“That’s right, whatever you need. You can do this Yuya!” 

Yuya’s smile widened, feeling grateful for his friends’ encouragement and confident in him. He gave them all a nod, promising to do the best he could in that duel, and to be the best Dueltainer that he could be. 

Later Yuzu took Yuya to the side, needing to have a talk with him. Yuya wasn’t sure what it was about, but Yuzu looked serious. 

“Yuya,” she said, placing her hands on Yuya’s shoulders, “I need you to listen to me, okay?” Yuya nodded, looking at Yuzu’s blue eyes. “Yuya, I need you to do  _ anything  _ you have to to win this.”

“Yuzu--”

“Listen,” she said softly, gently rubbing one of his shoulders. “I know that you love entertaining the crowd, love making them smile, but this is too important. For your sake, you  _ need  _ to take things more seriously, not act like a clown. You can entertain the crowd as well as duel, it’s what Yusho has always managed to do, win despite the odds, win and dazzle and entertain. And you need to do the same, show people that you can win. Unless you do it, the smiles will be muddled, they will never respect what you or Yusho or everyone here is doing, okay? You can dazzle and entertain the crowd as much as you like, but the mark of a great Dueltainer is that they can also win, not get distracted by the shine and sparkles, I need you for us, just to be a little more ruthless, and a little more focused.” 

_ “She does have a point,”  _ A thought came to Yuya’s head.  _ “I have to prove myself to everyone, show them." _

_ “Show them that I can do this, that I’m a Dueltainer, that I can win…”  _

“You’re right...You’re right!” Yuya said with a confident grin on his face. “I promise I’ll take this seriously, and I’ll entertain the crowd and win!” 

“That’s the spirit!” Yuzu said, hugging him close. Yuya’s eyes widened before hugging her back. “We should get you ready then, we’ll keep dueling until we perfect our decks and until you can go toe to toe against anyone.”

Yuya nodded in agreement. There was no time to waste.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Finally, the day of the duel arrived.

It was a big day, that’s for sure and Yuya had to make a big impression. He didn’t want to show off that he was nothing more than a clown, so he ditched the costume he was originally going to wear -- even though Mana thought he looked cute in it -- and came out as himself. No frills, no smoke and mirrors. He wanted to entertain the crowd, Yuzu was right, make a spectacle out of his every move and not simply make others laugh at your actions. 

The duel was intense for Yuya, for once in a long while he was actually pushed beyond his limit. Strong Ishijima’s Battleguard monsters were savage. Even though Yuya kept training and took everything seriously he wasn’t used to the Action Field of a humongous castle like from the books he read. And while it did make for some good entertainment and spectacle, as well as giving advantage and second chances, Yuya just didn’t know what to do. He drew another card and looked at his hand, seeing that all of them were monsters. 

_ “What am I gonna do? I’m gonna lose this aren’t I? I don’t want to… I don’t want to lose...” _

“Yuya…” Yuzu muttered, clasping her hands in prayer.  _ Come on Yuya please… _

Yuya’s heart hammered in his chest, adrenaline spiked and the audience’ voices and cheers rang in his ears. He could do nothing at this point.

_ Oh, I know... _

Yuya gasped as he felt a spark go through his body, and he watched the five cards in his hand glow and began to transform, becoming different, strings of gold irises appeared in Yuya's own. His voice rang in his ears, acting out of instincts with knowledge he wasn’t sure where it had come from. Taking Stargazer Magician and and Timegazer Magician in his hand and showing it to the audience and Strong Ishijima with a confident smirk. 

“Ladies and gentlemen!” Yuya said, raising his hands with a confident smirk. “I would like to present to you something brand new, never seen before this moment!”

Whispers and murmurs began to come from the crowd, having no idea what Yuya could do, or what new thing he could be planning to show them. 

“I play my Scale 1 Stargazer Magician and Scale 8 Timegazer Magician and  _ set the Pendulum Scale _ !” 

The two magicians, one in pure white robes, the other in black rose in the air with a number 1 under Stargazer and a number 8 under Timegazer. The people gasped in amazement as something like that had never happened before, but it was amazing. 

“Hold on, what’s happening?” Yuzu asked, her eyes wide at the two monsters floating in the air. 

_ I… I have absolutely no idea…  _ Yuzu could hear the amazement, shock and confusion in Ray’s voice, they very much matched her own. 

_ “So… this isn’t a summoning method from another dimension or something?”  _ Yuzu asked. 

_ No… but I think I know what’s going on... _

_ “What?”  _

_ I’ll need to make sure first, don’t worry, and enjoy the show, this is gonna be  _ a spectacle. Laugh and joy filled Ray’s voice, as well as anticipation, filling Yuzu with the same, wanting to know what could happen next, and if Yuya could get out of this.

“Now since I set the Pendulum scale I can special Summon from my hand any number of monsters between the levels of one and eight!” Yuya extended his hand up as a pendulum swung in the air in smooth oscillations. “Swing Pendulum of Souls, draw an arc of light across the ether! Pendulum Summon! Appear Level 2 Performapal Sword Fish!”

A lightning bolt struck the field at Yuya’s call, and the monster was a blue Swordfish with black hair slicked into a pompadour with pink sunglasses. Its only other accessory was a hot pink bow tie and light pink polka dots. Just like its namesake, its tail’s end was shaped like the handle of a sword. (600 ATK) 

“Level 4 Performapal Whip Snake!” 

Next was a purple snake wearing a top hat and a yellow cloth around it. He had a star on each cheek, one was a light blue the other was orange, and a yellow bow tie with orange polka dots, with its tail ending with a heart shaped decoration. (1700 ATK)

“And last, behold my Level 7  _ Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon! _ ” 

The familiar red dragon appeared with a roar, with big curved horns coming from his head, a green and red orb floating around with a purple one showing on his stomach. (2500 ATK)

“Holy shit, Yuya!” Joey yelled, wide eyed and amazed at these cards, having no idea where Yuya even got them. 

Atem and Yugi exchanged a confused look as well; no one just  _ creates  _ a new type of summoning, especially not this easily. There were sparks in the air, a feeling of heavy  power  that both of them could feel, but not understand what it could be. 

Yuzu was shell shocked, her jaw almost hitting the floor, this was amazing, how did Yuya do any of that?

“How is this possible?” Strong exclaimed. “You can’t summon multiple monsters in one turn!” Strong turned to his Duel Disk where he contacted Nico Smiley. “He has to be cheating!”

Nico shook his head. “The Duel Disks are working perfectly and they can’t be hacked or Leo Corp would have stopped the Duel; this is all perfectly legal and legit.”

“WHAT?!”

“There’s more where that came from,” Yuya grinned. “Now I activate the effect of Performapal Whip Snake and switch the ATK and DEF of Battleguard King until the End Phase!”

Performapal Whip Snake flew in the air and wrapped itself around Battleguard King’s arm and bit him The savage ogre gave a roar as he seemed to stager and lower his arms as his attack and defense switched. (Battleguard King: 5000/1100 -) 1100/ 5000)

“Next I activate Performapal Sword Fish’s effect, if it was Special or Normal Summoned, your monster loses 600 ATK points!”

Swordfish summoned six more copies of himself before they flew into the air and stabbed him at the arms, chest and legs. Battleguard King fell to his knees as he was almost fully drained. (1100 -) 500 ATK)

“Now for the final turn!” Yuya said, raising his arms in the air. “Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon attack Battleguard King!”

“Stop!” Strong exclaimed. “I activate my Trap Card, Battleguard Howling. If a ‘Battleguard’ monster I control is being attacked, this would let me target and return the attacking monster to the hand and inflict damage to his opponent equal to that monster's ATK!” Strong Ishijima had a manic grin on his face as he said that, knowing that Yuya had no cards in his hand and no Action Card could stop this effect.

But Yuya smirked, and it turned sharp, the golden strings in his irises glowing, “I activate the Pendulum Effects of Timegazer Magician!” he said, waving his hand as if introducing his magician, and Timegazer extended his hand stopping the Trap Card with a white seal like that of a clock. “If a Trap Card targets exactly one monster, Timegazer negates its effect and places it back face down!”

The Trap Card went back face down making Strong Ishijima gasp. He looked around wanting to find an Action Card that could help him evade the attack or the destruction of his monster. Thankfully he found one hiding in a tree behind him which he quickly snatched.

“I...I activate the Action Card Evasion! And now this allows me to negate an attack!” Ishijima said, placing the card in the slot. Yuya raised his hand and closed it making a first as his grin became a little sharper. 

“Stargazer’s Pendulum effect activates! Spell Cards that target one of my Pendulum Monsters are negated and placed face down until the end of this turn!” 

Stargazer summoned a cluster of stars that made the Action Card also turn face-down, causing Strong to shrink in fear. At this rate, he’d have no time to find another one!

Odd-Eyes fired his attack, the orbs on its body starting to glow before a blast of fire erupted from his mouth, ready to incinerate the once powerful king.

“I’ll still have life points left, this isn’t over!” Strong said. 

“You see dear sir, you are quite wrong!” Yuya said cheerfully, tilting his head. “I activate Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon’s effect. If it battles a monster with a level of five or higher the damage gets doubled!”

“Wait no…” Strong whimpered. He knew the math; it would end up with him losing nearly all his lifepoints!

Odd-Eyes destroyed Battleguard King, the Tribute Monster howling in pain as he was incinerated, taking a lot of Strong’s lifepoints on him.

**(Ishijima: 1300) …………………….......... (Yuya: 2000)**

“And I still have two monsters that didn’t attack yet! And I shouldn't take the fun from either of them, should I? So Performapal Whip Snake and Sword Fish...” Yuya said, getting grabbed into Odd-Eyes’ horns and jumping up, doing a flip in the air and landing on Odd-Eyes’ back. The cheers were overwhelming and Yuya extended his hand, issuing a command to the other two monsters. “End this duel!” 

The two monsters attacked Ishijima directly, Swordfish summoning more copies of himself and Whip Snake constricting him so he wouldn’t leave. Without anything else he could do, Ishijima’s lifepoints fell all the way down to 0, ending the duel.

Ishijima fell to his knees in shock as the crowd cheered happily at having enjoyed a great duel. Yuya blinked and his eyes widened, he couldn’t believe it. Did he...did he win?

_ I did. I really did. _

He had no idea where any of that had come from, it’s like he just knew exactly what to do, and just put on a show. It was amazing! Yuya bowed to the crowd and waved cheerfully all around and as more cheers and chants of his name rang through the audience. 

“I’m still shocked as everyone is!” Nico said. “Yuya Sakaki pulled a victory from out of his deck and defeated the champion with a brand new summoning method! It truly looks like the boy had pulled a magnificent miracule!”

In a special viewing box, Maximilian Pegasus watched the duel unfold with interest and excitement. He had to speak with Yuya later but that was quite the show, he was very glad that he and Cecilia had decided to come and watch such a magnificent duel. The silver haired man stood up clapping with the rest of the crowd, smiling down at Yuya. 

_ Bravo, Yuya-boy... _ Pegasus thought to himself.  _ Your father would be quite proud of the way you dueled today. _

…

…

…

Yuya walked out of the stadium after everything was finished walking through the building, where his friends and family were waiting for him, excited to see him and ask questions. 

“Yuya!”

Yuya looked in surprise when Mana tackled him to the ground like she was a large cat.

“I, the man Gongenzaka am quite proud and happy of the outcome of the duel.” 

“You really did it!” Yuzu said, jumping excitedly before pulling Yuya to her and giving him a kiss. On the lips. “You were amazing!” 

Yuya’s eyes widened, while several jaws in the background became unhinged. Joey dropped his large popcorn cup to the floor.

Yuya had to blink a few times to register what had just happened. “Okay is this a dream? I think I’m dreaming at this point,” Yuya said, his mind basically short circuiting. 

“Well I did not expect  _ this  _ today.” Mahad noted.

“Yuya just won a big duel and got himself a girlfriend in one day that’s gotta be a record,” Joey commented slapping Yuya on the back. “Way to go kid.” 

“Wait, hold on--” Yuya tried to say but Mana cut him off. 

“We need to celebrate!” She yelled, jumping up. 

“Now hold on just a minute! What is this about a girlfriend!” Shuzo shouted, finally making it out of the crowd.

“It was just a kiss…” Yugi noted.

“JUST A KISS?!” Shuzo said, grabbing Yuya’s shoulders. “Now listen here young man--Ow!”

Yuzu’s  _ harisen  _ was brandished and had hit Shuzo, Joey and Mana in quick succession. “First of all, You two,” she said pointing at Mana and Joey. “Let him breath.” The blond boy and the brunet girl nodded and took a few steps back. “And dad, we’ll talk about this later.”

“But--”

“ _ Later _ ! With  _ me _ there.”

Yoko came closer laughing and hugged her son. “Way to go Yuya, your father would be really proud of you today, you were just amazing.” 

Yuya smiled brightly, having won not only the duel but the crowd as well as they kept chanting his name over and over.

“And Mana is right! This does call for a celebration!” Yoko continued. “So I’m taking you to a good  _ yakinuku _ place that doesn’t charge you for every single piece of meat you order.”

“Mom is that really necessary?” asked Yuya.

“Of course it is, Yuya, you were amazing today, you deserve this,” Yoko reassured him, ruffling his hair with a grin. 

“A’right sounds great!” Joey cheered. 

“Anything that involves food sounds great to you,” Téa remarked, but it was a playful one.

“Well yeah, food is great!” Joey replied, and everyone laughed. 

Yuya looked at Yuzu laughing and smiled, it was as everyone else faded away into the background, and he wanted to hug Yuzu again and kiss her, it was as if the kiss gave the incentive to see his best friend in another light. Yuzu was always a precious friend to him, always stayed by his side and always tried to keep him focused. But there was always an undefined line between, he wanted to define it, to be sure, now. 

“Hey Yuzu, um can we talk?” Yuya asked, turning to the pink haired girl. 

“Yeah, sure,” Yuzu replied with a nod.

“Now wait a minute!” Shozu said, trying to stop them. 

“Dad!” Yuzu interrupted whatever he was gonna say and crossed her hands. 

“B-but Yuzu--”

“No dad, you can’t just stop us from talking.”

“R-right…” Shozu sighed as the two of them slipped away to be alone. 

“Oh cheer up Shozu, who’d be a better match to Yuzu than Yuya? It was bound to happen sooner or later,” Yoko said. 

“Yes but… I did expect it to come far later…”

“Um, it’s uh…” Yuya started talking but got a little tongue tied. 

“It’s about the kiss, isn’t it?” Yuzu took a guess. 

“Y-yeah,” Yuya answered, rubbing the back of his head with a small blush on his face. 

“I just… got excited that’s all,” she explained. 

“Oh…” Yuya said, looking away. 

“You didn’t like it?” Yuzu asked. 

“N-no, I didn’t say that I ah… I liked it… I really did.” 

Yuzu smiled, “So you wouldn’t mind if I kissed you again would you?” She asked. 

Yuya smiled back. “No, I wouldn’t.”

“And you wouldn’t mind if we actually started dating, would you?”

“Of course not! I mean, it’s thanks to you that I’ve managed to keep it together these past few years. I mean, Joey and his friends were also a big help but you were there even before Joey shook a can of soda onto those bullies to scare them away and--”

“Yuya,” Yuzu said gently, placing her hand on Yuya’s shoulder, “You’re rambling,” she said. 

“Sorry,” Yuya said, rubbing the back of his head. 

Yuzu smiled. “It’s okay, I know just the thing,” she said and pressed herself closer to Yuya, giving him another kiss. Yuya smiled and kissed her back, his heart beating quickly in his chest. Yuzu cut the kiss with a confident grin. “How was that?” 

Yuya’s smile widened and he gave Yuzu a short kiss of his own, wrapping his arms around Yuzu’s waist and Yuzu having her arms around Yuya’s neck. “Breathtaking.” 

  
  


**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

The day after the Championship Duel was full of people praising Yuya and wanting his autograph, as well as wanting to see his Pendulum Cards in action again, Yuzu and Gongenzaka had to pry fans away from him just so Yuya could walk to You Show Duel School without being mobbed...and even there there were plenty of children wanting to enroll (mostly for the cards, from what Yuzu could hear) which Shuzo and Mana handled, before a very familiar man arrived halting everyone, and putting a very wide smile on Mana’s face. 

“Yuya!!!!” Shuzo slammed the door once again coming in panting. 

“Dad? What’s going on now?” asked Yuzu.

“Yeah did someone else come with an offer to duel me again?” Yuya asked jokingly. 

“Well… not exactly…” Shuzo moved aside as Pegusus walked in along with a man wearing sunglasses and a mustache holding a briefcase. 

“Hello Yuya-boy~!” A familiar voice rang.

“P-president Pegasus?” Yuya said wide-eyed. “What are you doing here?” 

“Yuya-boy, I come here with an offer,” Pegasus said in a cheery voice with a wide warm smile on his face.

“An offer?” Yuya blinked. 

“Indeed,” said the silver haired man with a nod. “May I sit?” he asked. 

“Oh yes, please, go ahead, would you like something to drink?”

“Some tea would be delightful,” Pegasus said. 

“Oh, right away!” Shuzo said as he took Yuzu with him to help prepare some tea for their… guest.

In a few minutes the tea was ready and brought to their guest with Yuzu sitting beside Yuya, with Gongenzaka on his other side, Shuzosat on a lone seat with the three kids on his left and the president on his right, and the man Pegasus came with standing behind him. Pegasus added three cubes of sugar to his tea and stirred it with a silver spoon as he began to speak.

“You see Yuya-boy, I watched your duel with Mr. Ishijima yesterday, and I must say I was quite impressed, the duel, the showmanship, oh the excitement was simply breathtaking! Bravo, my boy.”

“Oh um… thank you!” Yuya said, blushing at getting so much praise from someone like Pegasus, the head of Industrial Illusions himself. Yuzu and Gongenzaka smiled proudly at their friend; he did deserve all that praise after all. 

“However,” Pegasus continued, making Yuya look up at him, and everyone’s eyes look at the silver haired man. “There is a small detail about your cards.” 

“My cards…” Yuya said, looking at his deck. 

“Indeed, Pendulums, you called them? Such odd and fascinating cards. For years now Leo Corp. has been responsible for bringing the Extra Deck summoning to the masses, and we at Industrial Illusions making more and more archetypes, and yet, I am quite sure that Pendulums were never a thing in either of our companies, and you seem to be the only one who has them. They are quite powerful too, doesn’t that seem a bit… suspect and unfair?” 

“Mister Pegasus, if you are accusing Yuya of cheating--” Yuzu began.

“I am doing no such thing,” Pegasus interrupted. “In fact I am quite fascinated by these Pendulum Cards you see, but other people will accuse the boy of that, and he might get discredited and his achievement stripped away from the eyes of others.” 

“That’s true… I mean Yuya where… where did you even get these Pendulum cards from?” Shozu asked. 

“I...I don’t know…”

“You don’t know? How can you not know? You have these cards!” Shuzo shouted.

“I… I know that it might be hard to believe but…”

“But?” Shuzo encouraged him. 

Yuya took a deep breath and pulled out his deck, revealing all the new pendulum monsters, making Pegasus, Shuzo and even Yuzu’s eyes widen. “When I was in the duel, when I realized that I couldn’t do anything with five monsters in my hands, I was so worried. I wanted to win so badly, and then my cards just… glowed and transformed as if… as if…”

“As if by magic,” Pegasus finished. 

Yuya nodded. “Yeah...” 

“Yes I understand, so here is where my offer comes in,” Pegasus said. “You see Yuya-boy, I see potential in your cards; they allowed an archetype to evolve and become something new and magnificent. So I’m asking you to allow us at Industrial Illusions to study your them, release a statement saying that you were chosen by me to test our prototype Pendulums in your duel as, let us call it a ‘marketing ploy’, and create more of them, more archetypes, enhance more decks and let the public have them.” 

“But Yuya’s the one who made these cards, not Industrial Illusions,” said Shuzo, coming to Yuya’s defense. “You can’t simply turn him into your marketing ploy!” 

“Of course, I am not without a sense of honor, and I do not plan on scamming the boy. This is why I brought Croquet here. You see if we could have a talk with Yuya-boy and perhaps his guardian, Ms. Yoko Sakaki was it? Ah yes, we could draw a very beneficial contract on both sides, with Yuya getting a share.” 

“Are...are you serious?!” Yuya gasped. The money from this contract would help his mother out immensely. 

“Of course! So what do you think, Yuya-boy? Does it sound like a good offer?”

“I uh...well… I don’t know, I...I need to think about it, I need to talk about my mom about it...” Yuya said. His mother probably would be more firm on the matter on Pegasus using her boy for some scheme.

“Of course Yuya-boy take your time,” said Pegasus, handing the boy a business card. “Here’s my number if you want to contact me, or simply ask Mana.”

“Thank you Mr. Pegasus,” Yuya said with a bow. 

“Oh my pleasure,” Pegasus said with a wide smile on his face and shook Yuya’s hand, and Shuzo’s. “I hope I’ll be hearing from you soon, Yuya-boy. Oh and if I may ask you for a favor?” 

“A favor?” Yuya asked. 

“Indeed, would you mind giving us another live demonstration? Show us what your Pendulum cards can really do.” 

“Yo-you want me to duel you?!” Yuya asked.

Pegasus laughed and even Croquet couldn’t help but crack a smile. “Oh heavens no, although I’m sure it would have been quite fun. But no, you could duel any of your friends. Just simply give me and the fans a good duel, if you will.”

“Now?” Yuya asked. 

“If you don’t mind of course.”

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Ray looked at the cards in her hands with glee, wanting to laugh and cackle and lose it. If she could she would have tackled Zarc to a bed and fucked his brains out.“That brilliant bastard,” she said with a laugh. 

“You mean Zarc?” Yuzu asked. 

“Oh yes, he created a whole new summoning method out of the eather.” 

“He was the one who gave us these cards?” Serena asked, looking at the two new Pendulum Cards in her hand, the moment they appeared in her deck she was surprised, and wasn’t sure what to do with them, but it seemed that all four of them had gotten these types of cards along with Ray herself. 

“Of course,” Ray said with a laugh “You four are basically his princess, he’ll do anything to make us stronger.” 

Ray was gleeful at how Yuya emulated her beloved Zarc. Even the way he flipped onto Odd-Eye’s back was just like how Zarc would do so way back when. Oh she just wanted to hug Yuya right now. 

“ _ How _ do you use these things?” Rin asked, sounding a little frustrated. 

“Well, if you don't want them…” Ruri teased. 

“Oh shut up!” Rin said with a pout. “And come on, none of you know how to use them. I was kinda surprised since Yugo actually got his first, and had no idea how to use them either.”

“Yugo got them?!” Yuzu asked. “Aren’t your entire decks made to quickly summon and swarm the field? What do you need these for?” 

“Well yeah, and he didn’t exactly use them for that, in fact he just used one card,” Rin said. 

“One?” Yuzu asked. “I thought you needed two!”

“Maybe to summon I guess but their other effects can be used with only one card,” Rin answered. 

“Second effects? You mean the weird new box texts?” Serena asked.

“Yep. So Yugo kinda put the card at the very edge of the duel desk, and the cards that he banished returned to him by sending others from his hand to the graveyard. He didn’t know how to use it again after that until he placed it on another edge.” 

“And you didn’t destroy it?” Serena asked. Getting banished cards back is a pretty powerful effect. 

“I couldn’t attack it,” Rin answered. “Not while it was on the edge, any other time the second effect didn’t work, but I was able to get rid of it if Yugo hadn’t already used it as a synchro material. It’s a level 2 Tuner, which in Yugo’s deck, is pretty rare.” 

“So it’s both a spell card  _ and  _ a monster card, but it can’t be both on the field at the same time. You have to choose what to use it as,” Ruri surmised. 

“Basically, yeah,” Rin answered. 

“Did you use yours?” Serena asked. 

“No, though they’re quite good, I can search them out but without knowing how to use them properly I could have wasted them when I have other strategies. I mean, I did have trouble with Xyz.”

“Fair point,” Yuzu said. “And you, Serena?” 

“Nope, had no idea how or why and if I had dueled anyone other than Yuri, who was busy at the time with the Professor, I’m pretty sure someone would have reported about them, I just kept them in my side deck.” 

“Is there any discussion on bringing someone from Academia to Standard soon?”

“I did over hear it but, no one was specifically chosen. Yet according to Yuri, the professor will do it soon though.”

“Is there any chance you can hitch a ride?” Yuzu asked. 

“Still trying to convince him, he might say yes just to stop me from nagging him at this point. Told him to send a bodyguard who can actually beat me.”

“What about you, Ruri?” Yuzu asked. 

“We’re planning on coming to Standard in two days’ time,” Ruri answered. “We’ll be going to pick up some supplies and explain the situation to the people who can help. We have video evidence about what happened so convincing people, it shouldn’t be that hard.”

“I’ve got my duel against Akiza soon,” Rin brought up. “This will be the perfect chance to show off my Xyz Summoning. And with any luck, my pendulums too.”

“Your pendulums?” Serena asked.

“Mhm," Rin said with a nod, grinning.

“You’ll have to search it out, won’t you?” Yuzu asked. 

“I have amazing searchers: Glass Bell and one of my traps can get me any monster I want.” 

“You’re certainly not holding back,” Ray said, amused. 

“Nope, I’m bringing my all.” Rin said with a grin.

“I wish I could see it!” Ruri said with a pout. “Any other duel outside of our war I consider a fun one.” 

“I promise to record it,” Rin said with a grin. 

_ “Yuzu? Yuzuuuu….” _

…

…

…

“Yuzu? Helloooooo? Yuzu!!!” Yuya asked, shaking Yuzu’s shoulder. 

“Huh? Oh Yuya, sorry I blanked out,” Yuzu said, shaking her head. 

“Are you okay?” Yuya asked, a little worried. Yuzu had been blanking out a lot lately. 

“Yeah I’m fine, what did I miss?” She asked looking around. 

“Well, mister Pegasus asked me to give him another demonstration over my Pendulum cards, do you mind if we dueled?”

“Oh... “ Yuzu said, looking at Pegasus and back at Yuya and smiled brightly. “Not at all, I’d be happy to.”

“Splendid!” Pegasus said, clapping his hands. 

“Right this way please,” Yuya said, gesturing the entrance as Shuzo led the way. The red eyed boy turned back to Yuzu. “You sure you’re okay?” he asked worriedly. 

Yuzu smiled and kissed Yuya’s cheek. “Yea I’m fine, come on, can’t wait to kick your butt!” she said and ran out. 

“Hey, wait up!” Yuya called back laughing, and Gongenzaka followed the both of them as well. 


	10. Predator Dance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys I'm back, So I sadly started my new semester and have to study, but what are you gonna do, and GPQ has a lot of exams right now so she wasn't able to help much, but wish her good luck. So this chapter might be a bit strange since it came in the middle of a Standard Chapter, but I did want to write what was happening. 
> 
> In case it's a little confusing this chapter is part flashback with Serena and how she reacted to what she had learned, getting the Pendulum Cards, and after the Duel between Yuya and Yuzu happened. We will go back to Standard in two chapters and I do promise you that Yuzu and Yuya will duel. However for now I hope that you enjoy this chapter. 
> 
> And Lunalights are OTK enablers, yeah they are that strong.
> 
> Happy Halloween everyone.

_It was a shock to Serena's system to say the least._

_She was trying to leave her room once again in order to prove herself to the Professor, and stave off boredom, when her mind was transported into the dark void where she had met the other girls who had her face and learned about the truth. About what the Professor's true end goal was, and how she factored into it._

_And even after she was convinced of what the others were saying, part of her wanted to deny it, to cling to her own truth because it was the only thing she had at this point. She didn't want to believe that the professor did not care about her, that she meant nothing to hurt her, hurt her more than the insults, the jeers and being looked down upon by the other students who got to leave Academia for higher callings._

_She wanted to scream and cry and demand the truth from him, to challenge him into a battle and get the truth out. She felt anger and betrayal and hatred, even more she felt guilt and sadness. However, the fact that she stayed in her room for days without the professor being alarmed by it solidified the truth for her even more._

_Serena let out a breath and got out of her bed, her emotions bottled up inside of her with no way to let them out without alarming the Professor and others. She decided that she had stayed in her room long enough, and that she was suffocating from being in this place any longer than she should have. Therefore she needed to leave._

_Serena peeked out of her door and saw that some guards were stationed outside of it, so she needed her second way out. The purple haired girl headed for her room window that opened onto a balcony. She looked around her to see no one she hoped over the railings and jumped down. She landed safely, after getting through the shock of landing from that fall of height, and walked off to clear her head._

_Serena continued to walk through the island making sure no one saw her. While usually she would have loved to duel someone then and there, she didn't want to be reported to the Professor already. She knew that if she saw him this soon, she would not resist screaming at him, demanding the truth, demanding why he would keep her away from everything. The duels, the fight, the war, the classes, treating her like a fragile princess when in truth he didn't even give a fuck about her._

_She knew now, she knew that she was_ nothing _to him._

_Just a shadow, a shell of Ray who was the only person that the Professor cared about. He abandoned his dimension and apparently his son and wife for a daughter that was for all intents and purposes dead, clinging to an imaginary idea of her that never existed. Quite ironic then; to gain a child he once drove away, the Professor distanced another, and now both children wanted to take him down. Fitting._

_Serena wasn't sure what to do anymore. The idea of going to Xyz sickened her, the idea of staying on the island angered her, and she needed to reunite with her counterparts. Outside of the world Ray created in their mind, she was alone. It had never bothered her before; all she wanted was to show everyone, especially the Professor, that she was powerful. That she was worthy of his attention. That she wasn't just a favorite Island Princess. That she was as strong as any other person on this island._

_She hated this, hated the vulnerability that she was feeling. She wanted to strangle Akaba for using her. For not caring about her. For waging a pointless war in a world that was peaceful and happy all for a baseless "Utopia", something that was unnecessary to begin with._

_Serena thought that the battle efforts were about being a soldier. Showing the power that you have, bringing honor to Academia, showing that you were worthy. But after she spoke with Ruri, she found out that the Obelisk Force attacked_ everyone _: innocents who didn't duel, children who were too small to even defend themselves, and the bastards treated it all like a game, like they weren't separating families and harming others who couldn't defend themselves. Everything that she knew was a lie. She wanted to scream and yell and punch the first person that she came across, and if it happened to be an Obelisk Force student all the better._

_Suddenly, she heard a distant roar as she continued to walk. In a moment of curiosity, she decided to see what that was about and sneaked around to find out what was going on. She reached a part of Academia where four people stood around dueling, three Obelisk Force students stood side by side dueling one person._

_Said blue uniformed soldiers showing off their powers by dueling other students was not new. On any other day she would have walked past something like this without a second thought. Serena had to pause about that thought, and the guilt ate at her. She really would not have cared, blindly and thoughtlessly she would have never thought twice about it, all that mattered in Academia, was power, but what the Obelisk Force was doing was nothing short of_ cowardly _. A three against one with the guise of a Battle Royal when it was blatantly clear three against one duels made to make the win quicker. There was no honor in that, no strength or thought, it was nothing short of bullying...And that's all the Academia students were; bullies. They were childishly harming people._

_No, they were murderers. Everyone who had participated in dueling and carding people from Heartland to be nothing but fuel can be called nothing short of that._

_But...That's the way that things were, the way every last student was taught to do, to follow the professor's orders, should she really judge them? Yes she should. No one_ forced them _to do this, no one_ forced them _to follow the Professor's orders. From the students to the teachers they followed blindly. How despicable were these people?_

 _And it was clear that students can think and object. She had heard that others have defected from Academia, that they didn't want to harm people. Yes they put themselves in danger, but that shows the bravery that they have, instead of ambushing weak and unprepared innocents. The students who treated the invasion like a game, those that didn't give a fuck about harming others, these students should be held accountable for what they did, for what they_ all _did._

_Something brought her out of her thoughts though. The fact that all three of the Obelisk Force students now laid on the ground beaten, with a monster floating over them. But not just any monster - the memories from Ray supplied - a very familiar Dragon._

_Starving Venom Fusion Dragon._

_With his current master standing tall grinning at the students like a demon, an expression like that might have made her scared, made her heart beat faster and ready for a fight...but for some reason, it made her feel safe and proud, just a little bit calmer. He alone dueled and beat three Obelisk Force students. Now_ that _was true power._

_Yuri's eyes snapped to the place that she was hiding in, and Starving Venom crooned slightly, making Yuri glance at him before his eyes turned back to her hiding place. Wordlessly she moved away from her hiding spot and showed herself to Yuri. The boy smirked. She couldn't say that he smiled, it was too sharp to be one, but it wasn't malicious at all, rather she would dare call it a fond one, even if the two of them had never met before, she could feel that there was something pulling them together._

" _Lady Serena," Yuri said, and placed his hand over his chest and gave a short bow, before he straightened up with the same smirk and dark look in his eyes, confident and amused like a serpent, but he didn't seem to want to strike her by any means._

_Before Serena could respond, a groan from one of the fallen Obelisk Students caught her attention and she frowned. "Let's talk somewhere else," she said, side-stepping the students and into Yuri's side._

" _Agreed," Yuri said, removing Starving Venom from the duel desk and placing the cards back to their usual place. He looked back at Serena and motioned for her with his finger to follow him. "I know the perfect place," he said, as he walked away from the students without a single look behind him, leaving Serena to follow him, which she did after a second of hesitation._

_Yuri walked confidently, through Academia, with no one daring to stop him or question him, she could see that some of the Obelisk Force students, no doubt the ones that were stationed at her door, took one look and decided to go inform the Professor instead of having to deal with both her and Yuri at the same time, even if they were confused as to why the two were walking together._

_The two of them reached one of Academia's gardens, it seemed devoid of people, yet it seemed well kept with radiant flowers growing neatly and nicely, along with some exotic plants that seemed a bit out of place like flytraps, and even some cacti._

" _Do you like the place?" Yuri asked, still with the mischievous smirk on his face. "It's my personal garden, no student even dares to come on or they fear that I would sic Starving Venom at them."_

" _Would you?" Serena asked, raising her eyebrow._

_Yuri shrugged. "A very likely possibility."_

_Serena snorted, finally cracking a smile and sat down on the grass. She saw Yuri hesitate for a second before sitting down beside her. "Are you okay?" he asked._

_Serena gave a sigh. "Yeah, I have been thinking a lot lately. I feel so stupid and so angry at myself at the professor at the students. My world has been turned upside down and it's taking me a long time to actually come to terms with. You seem okay though, like nothing changed."_

" _Not much has, to be honest," Yuri said, a soft smirk on his face. "In fact, ever since Lady Ray beat me, and opened my mind, I've actually been feeling better than ever."_

" _Really?"_

 _Yuri nodded and placed a finger on the side of his head. "I've been hearing someone whisper in my ear since that moment. It's faint and if I don't concentrate on it, it sounds like me. But there is a hidden voice that seems powerful, and I decided to listen to what it says. The voice whispered promises of power, letting me feel the dark presence inside and feel the power hidden and unlocked," Yuri's smirk sharpened. "It felt so_ good _to listen_ , _to feel the power."_

" _Is it… Zarc's voice?"._

_Yuri nodded. "He feels… proud of me, something I've never felt before. A person, practically a stranger, giving me a feeling of happiness and accomplishment I've never known until now."_

" _You… feel what he feels?"_

_Yuri nodded again, "I feel it within my veins. The happiness, the amusement, the pride, it's mine and yet not."_

_Serena looked away thinking, wanting someone to be proud of her, giving her that sense of accomplishment that no one ever gave her. Not even the people that she beat would make the Professor give her accomplishment a second glance, but… he never will, and she shouldn't want that from him, not after all that she had learned. It disgusted her that a part of her, small as it was, still wanted that attention. She wasn't a child, she doesn't need that approval… but it would be nice if she was acknowledged by someone, seen for the strong person that she was instead of the rebellious princess._

_She was infuriated, angry with the professor, angry with herself, angry with every last person in this dimension that followed the Professor without a second thought. She wanted to scream, she felt like she could explode with the anger and frustration that was inside of her._

_It didn't stop her desire to be acknowledged though. Would Ray give her that attention? Who else would? Would Zarc?_

" _What does he tell you?" Serena asked, tilting her head at Yuri, curiosity eating at her._

" _Many things. His past, his desires, his power. He whispered so many things to me, like a storyteller spinning his tale. Though he did say that there will be a surprise soon," Yuri purred_

" _A surprise?" Serena repeated and Yuri just nodded._

" _He won't tell me what it is yet, but he promised it'll be soon."_

_Serena nodded back, wondering what that could be. The peace and silence between the two of them was ruined a few minutes later when three Obelisk Force students entered the garden, standing at attention in front of the two._

" _What is it?" Yuri asked, standing up and fixing the students with a sharp smirk._

" _Pardon us, Yuri-sama," one of the students with a green jewel over his mask greeted. "But the Professor is asking for you and Serena-sama to report to the main room."_

 _Yuri raised an eyebrow as Serena stood up as well. "The_ both _of us?"_

_The boy nodded with a gulp looking at Serena's angry face one step behind Yuri. "Yes sir."_

_Yuri and Serena exchanged looks, Serena nodded and Yuri turned back to the student with a nod. Yuri and Serena walked silently to the main room where Akaba waited for them, not looking back at the three students that came to collect them._

_Serena wondered what the Professor would order from them now, and steeled herself for anything._

…

…

…

_Serena and Yuri entered the room which was half lit, filled with electronic devices and four glass tubes that now made Serena quite uncomfortable. The room meant nothing to her before - it was simply the room that the Professor resided in. Now it felt like her tomb and she shivered as if someone was dancing on her grave._

_Yuri moved forwards and kneeled in front of the professor, confusing Serena. She looked once again at the chair that Akaba sat in, built like a throne, as if this man thought that he was King. It made Serena's blood boil, she bit her lip so as to not say another word._

" _You ran away once more Serena, and you seem to have stumbled upon Yuri," the Professor announced. And it seemed that his tone was accusing her of something, yet she couldn't place her hand on it._

" _I was feeling suffocated in my room and I wanted to leave without your_ hounds _trailing after me," Serena said. "I watched Yuri beat three Obelisk Force students within two turns and I got curious to see if the rumors I heard about him were true."_

" _Did the two of you duel then? So that you could prove yourself worthy?" The Professor asked with a tired tone, making Serena bite her tongue as Ray nudged her a bit warning her from saying anything stupid._

" _No, honestly I just wanted a change of scenery and I wasn't cowardly to just avoid him like the rest of this school."_

" _Curious…" The Professor noted._

" _It is true though, she just showed up and came to me wanting to get away from any of the other hounding dogs around, and I just thought why not? She had to have some bravery to come near me," Yuri said with a shrug._

_The Professor seemed to groan and rub the bridge of his nose, not knowing what to think about the two of them being… friendly. And that's when Serena had an idea._

" _Yeah he's strong enough to beat three of the most elite students right? So why doesn't_ he _become my bodyguard?" she asked._

_Yuri seemed to freeze in surprise at the suggestion and looked back at her._

" _What?" The Professor asked. " Serena, you have ran away from every bodyguard assigned to you, and now you want_ Yuri _after a few hours of knowing him?" He asked suspiciously._

" _Yeah, every guard you sent my way treats me like a fragile china doll who will easily break when I could duel them to the ground and grind them to dust under my feet." Serena said, emphasizing this with a stomp of her boot. "At least Yuri seems like the guy who wouldn't think I'd break from a light breeze."_

" _Is that so?" the professor said, a bit amused. "Very well then, if it will make you behave more, then I'll make you a deal, you will duel your new bodyguard, if you win, Yuri will be yours, and he will accompany you everywhere, but if you lose, then you will be under his watchful eye, and you will stop demanding to go to the front lines of the war in the Xyz Dimension."_

" _Do I get any say in this?" Yuri asked, raising his eyebrow. "After all, professor, didn't you give me_ another _mission?"_

" _If she loses, then you will have nothing to worry about," The Professor said, crossing his arms, as if he was sure that Serena will lose. "And if she wins, then she will prove herself to me as a powerful enough duelist, good enough to accompany you and retrieve the other girls, after all you did have to retreat the last time correct? And having two of you will make the win easier against a single little girl. All for the key of our Utopia."_

_Serena frowned. Would it be that easy to convince him? Just one win to finally get his attention? But she didn't want his attention, not any more, what she wanted was to prove herself to herself, to Ray, to the other girls, to bring back Ray and Zarc and have them right what the professor… what Akaba did, but if she wins, she does get a modicum of freedom, and she does get to be with Yuri without the need to sneak around. So, there was only one answer._

" _I accept," Serena answered confidently. Her eyes met with Yuri's own, a silent reassurance on both sides. Serena knew that she was powerful in her own right, but she shouldn't underestimate whoever the professor would get to duel her._

" _Very well, if she does win Yuri, then you will have to stay with her every waking moment to keep her safe, is that understood?" Akaba questioned, trying to goad him into a reaction._

_Yuri sighed. "Far be it from me to disobey, Professor, I wouldn't want to babysit anyone, but if she does win, she might be able to get the other girls' trust or curiosity at the very least."_

" _Indeed," Akaba said, and Serena stood unwavering._

_Akaba raised his arm to his chest and clicked on a few buttons._

…

…

…

_Akaba took them outside into the front of the main building, students stood around wanting to watch what this was about. Yuri stood silently at attention, with his hands tucked behind his back, both of them standing behind Serena._

_The man that approached was tall, he had a muscular build and an unkind face, his hair was light blue and spiky with a burn scar on the left side of his face and a black eye patch, while his visible eye was red. He wore a black wife beater with a dark green jacket, bandages over his arms, along with a name tag necklace around his neck._

_So that was who her bodyguard would have been, he seemed to have gotten a lot of scars, probably from being in the war against Heartland._

" _You chose Barrett?" Yuri questioned._

" _Indeed, he has proven himself in the Xyz dimension to be a very powerful duelist, locking opponents from every possible way to attack."_

" _Hm…" Yuri said, not sure how to feel about the whole situation. He had never seen Serena duel before, and while the Obelisk Force students have had a lot of assaults from her because they kept trailing her to get her back to her room, he had never felt the need to watch or concern himself, the Professor simply was to be obeyed. He would like to kick himself for all of that._

"Don't concern yourself," _Zarc's voice sounded in his ear, making Yuri relax._ "Let us simply watch. Even if she loses, there are other ways to be by her side."

' _Do you think that she could win?' Yuri asked._

_Yuri could feel the smirk_ 'I have faith in my princess.'

" _Lady Serena," Barret said as a leeway of greeting. "Know that I am honored to duel you, and that I will not hold back, even against you. You wish to be a part of this war, and I respect your determination and desire to prove yourself, so know then that I will not be holding back."_

" _I'd be quite insulted if you did," Serena replied with narrow eyes._

" _I do wish you luck then, though you would not win," Barret said, making Serena grit her teeth, "But this is your chance to show if you truly are ready for a true battle."_

'No, it wouldn't be that easy, the only way to get what I want, to get the bit of freedom that I want is to beat you,' _Serena though, narrowing her eyes and looking at her deck._ 'Get ready girls, we're going in strong."

" _ **Duel!"**_ _Both dulests yelled, and the duel started._

_**(Barrett: 8000)...(Serena: 8000)** _

" _I'll start," Barrett said, drawing a card and activating Beastborg Fusioner, I fuse together Pitch Black Werewolf and Canon Soldier!"_

" _Fusion Summon, Level 6 Beastborg Panther Predator!"_

_It was a panther with half of its body, specifically the left half was made of machine parts, with one mechanical wing, half a cap and a giant sword in his right and a giant golden spike that comes out of the normal shoulder(1600 ATK)_

" _Now you take damage equal to half Panther Predetor's attack!" Barrett declared, and Panther Predator crouched down showing his metal claws before running quickly and swiping at Serena._

_The purple haired girl hissed and glared at the Panther, giving the monster a small pause as it went back to Barrett's side._

_**(Barrett: 8000)...(Serena: 7200)** _

" _I place two cards face down and end my turn," Barrett said._

" _My turn," Serena said looking at her hand, and looking back at Barrett's field, she had heard that the man used trap cards that belong to his Beastborgs in order to lock the opponent from using anything to counter him, however they do tend to target,_ "So," _Serena though,_ "I better protect my monsters.

" _I summon Lunalight Emerald Bird to the field!" Serena declared, placing the card on the Duel Desk. an Emerald girl with blue body, short red hair, with a round hat atop of her head, her hands sprouted blue feathery wings, she wore a blue and orange Leotard with blue frills over her shoulder and around her waist. And a half moon mask over the right side of her face (1200 ATK)_

" _Since Emerald Bird was summoned I get to send one Lunalight card to the graveyard and draw another card, so I send Lunalight Yellow Martin to the graveyard, and chain their effects together, Yellow Martin's effect allows me to get a Lunalight spell or trap to my hand, and I choose Lunalight Fusion," Yellow Marten's translucent image appeared and raising her hands together as Serena took Lunalight Fusion and showed it to Berret._

" _Next I get to draw another card thanks to Emerald Bird's effect," Emerald Bird grinned mischievously and with a snap of her fingers Serena drew her next card._

" _I'm not done yet of course," Serena said, "I use Yellow Martin's effect, so I take a Lunalight Card back to my hand, and she comes right back to the field," Serena said with a smirk, Emerald Bird waving goodbye as she disappeared with a blue light just as Yellow Martin came back, crossing her arms in defense mode, she was a cat girl with yellow fur and a pink leotard with a white center with red over her chest with a half moon brooch and a pink curvace, shoulderless pink sleeves and pink ruffles around her hips. She wore black heels and black gloves. (2000 DEF)_

" _Next I activate the spell card Polymerization, and fuse Lunalight Yellow Martin with Lunalight Crimson Fox!" Serena declared clasping her fingers together as the familiar orange and blue vortex appeared from behind her and Yellow Marten jumped up and another Lunalight appeared_ _wearing red and having fox ears and tail, the two Lunalight Monsters held hands as they were taken by the Fusion Vortex._

" _Yellow Cat that skips towards the moonlight, clever crimson fox with deadly claws! Spiral into the moon's gravity and become a new power! Fusion Summon! Come to me! Beautiful beast that dances in the moonlight! Fusion Summon! Lunalight Cat Dancer!"_

_The monster had purple skin with red long hair, purple skin tight pants and cyan fabric falling around her, with a mask over her face and a half moon purple crown on her head, along with golden hoops around her wrists and daggers in each hand, dancing into the field with the moon behind her, giving Panther predator a smirk showing her own fangs. (2400 ATK)_

" _First, since I used Yellow Martin's ability to get her back to the field, she is banished, for now," Serena explained placing Yellow Martin in her back pocket. "Second, since Crimson Fox was sent to the graveyard using a card effect, I can target one monster you control and their attack becomes zero!"_

_Barrett's eye widened as Panther Predator's attack points went down to zero, making the monster fall to his knee._

" _I activate the Trap Card Beastborg Medal of the Steel Chain," Chains flew from the Trap Card, wrapping around Cat Dancer's wrests shoulders and waists making her roar in anger as her daggers fell to the ground._

" _Cat Dancer!" Serena called seeing her monster chained down._

" _Once per turn when you Special Summon monsters to the field they can't attack, can't be destroyed in battle and can't change her possession, and each time you get damage, your monsters lose the same amount from their attack points."_

_Barret explained making Serena growl and narrow his eyes at him._

" _You've only used that once, remember that I have another fusion card in hand, I play another spell card, Lunalight Fusion!" Serena placed the card in the slot ready to Fusion Summon her most powerful Monster to end this quickly._

" _Stop!" Barret said. "I activate the Trap Card, Cursed Seal of the Forbidden Spell!" The trap card appeared, with a broken gold seal with pink smoke coming from it. "I send one Spell Card from my hand to the graveyard and now not only is your Spell Card negated, but you can't use another card with the same name for the rest of the duel!" Barrett explained, showing the Polymerization card in his hand and sending it to the graveyard._

_Serena scoffed, narrowing her eyes at Barrett and sending Lunalight Fusion to the graveyard instead. "I end my turn._

" _So he locked her out of attacking, and Fusion Summoning another monster, and the only defense she got is a kitten who's about to be declawed," Yuri said. "I guess the rest of what's in her hand are monsters."_

" _Indeed," Akaba said with an amused smirk, Serena's Fusion monsters need themselves as a Fusion Material to become stronger. Therefore, no matter what she summons she loses a fusion monster, and the Trap Card can simply chain any Special Summoned monster._

" _Professor," Yuri said._

" _Yes, Yuri?"_

" _The Trap card can easily be removed by any back row removal, it's not that hard to get rid of it."_

" _...Yes that is true, but Serena's monsters have a nasty habit of avoiding destruction, so she never had any reason to place much of that removal. And Barrett's deck has a better trap yet to be used."_

"What do you think?" _Yuri thought._

"It's too early to tell, but I don't think that she will lose just yet" _Yuri could hear the smirk in that voice. Zarc was confident in Serena, more so that the closest thing Serena had to a father, Yuri mused._ "I'm not surprised, he's always been like that, never wavering about what he thought,always believing he's right, but in reality he was nothing but a stubborn man, who doesn't even know what his own daughter is capable of, it seems that that hadn't changed.

" _I draw!" Barrett declared drawing a card, and I play the Equip Spell Card Fusion wopean! This adds 1500 ATK to my Panther Predator."_

_Panther Predator roared as his powers grew. (1600 -) 3100 ATK)_

" _Now I activate Panther Predetor's effect and you lose life points equal to half of its attack points!"_

_Panther Predator ran towards Serena jumping off of Cat Dancer and hitting a blow at Serena, making her groan, and making Cat Dancer hiss in anger."_

_**(Barrett: 8000)...(Serena: 5650)** _

" _And then, your monster loses the same amount of attack points," Barrett reminded her._

_Cat Dancer screeched trying to get out of the chains before Panther Predator clawed at her (2400 -)1250 ATK)_

" _My Panther Predator hadn't attacked yet, go attack Cat Dancer now!"_

_Panther Predator growled at Serena's monster, with Cat Dancer hissing right back before a blow hit her, she tried to defend herself but the chain prevented her, restricting her movement and letting Panther Predator land a strong hit, making her scream._

_**(Barrett: 8000)...(Serena: 3800)** _

" _And your cat loses attack points again."_

_Cat Dancer hissed as she lost all her attack points (1550 -) 0 ATK)_

" _I end my turn."_

"That's quite the show," _Zarc said._

"What do you mean?" _Yuri asked._

"A bit of advice, Yuri. A deck and its monsters are a reflection of its owner's. They put part of their souls into it. Now look at the kitten, declawed and depowered and yet she doesn't flinch away from the battle, she hisses, she fights with everything. It shows who Serena truly is - beaten and broken, she will fight her battles to the end."

"Everyone here sees what the professor wants them to see, Serena has always been nothing more than the precious princess, no matter how many students she beat, she was never truly acknowledged by anyone.

"Well then, we shall certainly change that."

" _My turn," Serena said glaring at Barrett drawing a card. "And this is where the duel ends."_

" _Are you going to admit defeat then?" Barret asked. Serena laughed, strong and confident, her shoulders shaking as she smirked at Barrett._

" _Not on your life," she declared before taking a card from her hand and showing the Field Spell Fusion Recycling Plant._

" _Fusion Summoning again will not help you," Barrett said, his eye narrowing._

_Serena smirked. "We'll see about that," she said and activated Fusion Recycling Plant. The sky turned into night as a huge factory rose from the ground behind Serena with three towers, two of which emitting a strange sparkling substance, with mechanical parts all over the place scattered and placed in a giant pile in the background._

" _Uh…" A student said._

" _I don't think this is gonna be good," another student whispered._

" _Oh shut up, the princess wouldn't be able to beat Barret that easily."_

_Serena ignored the whispers and continued her turn "I activate Fusion Recycling plant and send Emerald bird from my hand to the graveyard," Serena said, sending the card to the graveyard._

" _I chain the effects of Emerald Bird and Fusion Recycling plant, since Emerald Bird was sent to the graveyard by a card effect I get to Special Summon back a monster either in my graveyard or banished and I think I might as well bring back Sweet Yellow Martin."_

_Yellow Martin Jumped back into the field in Defense Mode purring and licking her hand before grooming herself and then smirking as she looked at Panther Predator and Barrett. (2000 DEF)_

" _If you think that you can waste this card on simply Special Summoning, it won't work, Beastborg Medal of the Steel Chain is activated not triggered," Barret explained._

_Serena however didn't lose the smirk. "Next I use the Spell Card, Luna Light Perfume, so I can Special Summon another Monster from my graveyard," Serena said, placing the card in the slot. "So come on back Lunalight Crimson Fox!"_

_The red lunalight jumps into the field showing her claws (1800 ATK)_

_Yuri tilts his head._

" _What is she planning?" Akaba asked._

"Hmm," _Zarc hummed._

"What is it?" Yuri thought back at Zarc.

"She has some good retrieval abilities, and she has a good two level 4 monsters on the field, if she had any Xyz card she could easily Xyz summon."

"But she's not going to," Yuri said.

"No, I think she has something else in mind…"

" _Next I banish Luna light Perfume and send Lunalight Serenade Dance from my hand to the graveyard so that I can take one Lunalight Monster to my hand, and I choose, Lunalight White Rabbit."_

" _Rabbit? What does she do?" Yuri asked, looking at the Akaba to see him frowning._

" _Now, I summon Lunalight White Rabbit to the field!"_

_The small minster had long white ears on top of her head with long white hair that reached down her legs which parted into two parts, ending with two golden cuffs on each side of her hair connecting her hair once more, she wore a dark blue jumpsuit with green linings and white fabrik over her chest along with a white jacket with green linings and long sleeves that ended with white fabric that ended up with golden orbs decorating them, a half moon brooch on it and a mask that covered both of her eyes with a long white hammer, decorated with golden hexagons on the mallet (800 ATK)_

" _A bunny? Oh come on what can she do?" a student asked._

" _With all that provado you'd think she actually has something useful."_

_Serena laughed before petting White Rabbit who giggled, holding her hammer to her chest, smiling adorably._

" _First off as soon as she's summoned, she can bring back another Lunalight Monster from the graveyard, so come on back Lunalight Emerald Bird!"_

_Emerald Bird jumped in the air before landing back to the ground and crossing her arms as she kneeled into defense mode. (1000 DEF)_

" _Now I activate White Rabbit's second effect, for every Lunalight Monster on the field I can return one Spell or Trap card on the field to your hand._

" _What?!" Barret yelled and Serena Smirked._

_White Rabbit jumped up flying past Panther Predator and with her hammer she flung all three Spell and Trap cards back to Barrett's hand, smirking at the man before hopping back To Serena's side._

_Panther Predator's attack went back to what it was (3100-)1600 ATK)_

_Cat Dancer was finally rid of the chain and her attack went back to normal (0-)2400 ATK)_

" _Now even Lunalight Fox can destroy your panther, but no, I'm not the merciful you see, and I'm not giving you a chance to survive" Serena said. "So how about I introduce you to_ my _Panther warrior."_

_Several students gulped, being very familiar with that particular dancer._

_Serena took one of the cards in her hand and revealed it as the Polymerization card she obtained from the Field Spell. "I activate the spell Card, Polymerization! And I fuse Lunalight Cat Dancer and Crimson Fox together! "_

" _Beautiful beast that dances in the moonlight!Clever crimson fox with deadly claws! Spiral into the moon's gravity and become a new power! Fusion Summon! Come to me! Supple beast that dances through moonlit fields! Lunalight Panther Dancer!" Serena chanted bringing her hands together as another Fusion Vortex opened behind her._

A maroon skinned Beast-Warrior with black straight and short hair wearing a blue and white corset and white fur decorating the outlines of her chest, blue gloves with white palms, and two golden hoops decorating her arms and sharp looking claws. She had pink strips of fabric strips of cloth falling down her back and her legs were purple that ended in three toes with black claws. Her black tail lashed out like a whip as she smirked at Panther Predator _(2800 ATK)_

" _And since Crimson Fox was sent to the graveyard by a card effect, you know what that means," Serena reminded Barrett with a smirk. "Your little panther's attack becomes 0."_

_Panther Predetor's attack went down as a see through Crimson Fox ran through him._

_(1600-)0 ATK)_

" _My how the tables have turned," Yuri said._

" _Your monsters might be strong, but you won't defeat me so easily, I will still have life points left after that and fusion materials back once you destroy my monster, then I'll be summoning a more powerful monster."_

" _No, that's not gonna happen you see," Serena said. "Now the wording is gonna be a little complicated so listen_ up," _she continued looking at the other students around them. "Once Per turn I can activate this effect, Your monsters get to survive the battle once, Panther Dancer gets to attack each and all of them twice, and each time she destroys a monster, she gets 200 attack points until the end of this turn."_

_Barrett's eye widen, meaning Serena can destroy every monster that he can summon, even if he was able to swarm the field, which he really couldn't._

" _Next, I send Lunalight Purple Butterfly to the graveyard and add 1000 ATK points to Panther Dancer!"_

_A purple aura surrounded Panther Dancer for a moment as her attack points increased and she roared in triumph._

_(2800-)3800 ATK)_

" _Let's end this duel Shall we? Panther Dancer attack Panther Predator!"_

_Panther Dancer sprinted towards the Beastborg monster and slashed at him._

_Barrett yelled as he lost life points_

_**(Barrett: 4200)...(Serena: 3800)** _

" _And again!" Serena said and Panther Dancer slashed once more at the Beastborg destroying it._

_**(Barrett: 400)...(Serena: 3800)** _

" _Beastborg Panther Predetor's effect activates, since it was destroyed by battle and all of its fusion materials are in the graveyard I get to special Summon them!" Barret said, and special Summoned Pitch Black Werewolf_

_A dark wolf man with brown marks on his face and braces over his arms and legs, along with a brown tattered cape and a sword with a red hilt kneeled in front of Barrett facing Panther Dancer appeared and kneeled in defense mode. (600 DEF)_

_And Canon Soldier was also summoned in defense; it was a robot with simplistic shapes colored purple chest, green joints, and yellow middle. (1300 DEF)_

" _That's… not gonna work…" another student pointed out._

" _I guess you didn't understand my monster's effect well," Serena said._

" _What?" Barrett asked._

" _Panther Dancer can attack_ all _of your monsters, go, my beautiful beast and destroy all his monsters!"_

_Panther Dancer slashed and hit and kicked the two destroying them before jumping up and spinning in the air back to Serena's side._

_Barrett, who had to protect himself from the dust that happened because of Panther Dancer destroying his monsters, looked back at Serena and back at his field and his duel Desk._

" _The duel is not over yet," Barrett said._

_Serena snorted. "Yes it is, there is a monster that hasn't attacked yet!"_

" _What are you…?" Barrett loomed at the field and froze his eyes wide._

" _White Rabbit? Give us one more hop and end this duel!"_

_White Rabbit giggled as she hopped towards Barret with nothing stopping her, before she jumped high up in the air, with everyone looking at her before her foot hit the soldier right in the face, ending the duel._

_**(Barrett: 0)...(Serena: 3800)** _

_Serena stood proud with her hand on her hip, grinning as students cheered and whistled, looked to the side she saw Yuri clapping for her, and the Professor looked put upon. He had to fulfil the end of the bargain now._

_The Professor sighed as he walked towards Serena, speaking to her and to the students of Academia. "You've done well, Serena, you have proved that you are a powerful duelist in your own right, therefore, I will start considering that you join our efforts in building a Utopia. And as promised, Yuri will be your bodyguard now."_

_Serena smiled as Yuri came closer giving her a little bow sharing a smirk with her._

" _Thank you Professor," Serena said, her eyes still locked with Yuri's._

…

…

…

_Serena walked back to her room with Yuri walking one step behind her, as she reached her door two of the Obelisk Force students swallowed, she wasn't sure of it was fear of her or fear of Yuri but she was satisfied by it nonetheless._

_She opened her door and took a few steps in. As Yuri walked behind her, one of the students tried to stop them._

" _For-forgive us Yuri-sama, but do you have permission from the Professor to-"_

" _He's my new bodyguard," Serena said firmly, startling the two of them, making shivers of fear run down their bodies._

" _I-is that true?" A student with a red Jewel asked Yuri just to be sure._

_Yuri smirked making the two students flinch. "Yes, it's true, you two may leave, I'm more than strong enough to protect Lady Serena," Yuri said, dismissing them both._

" _Bu-but sir-"_

_Yuri's glare was enough to shut both of them up._

" _Y-yes sir...m-my lady…" the two of them ran away as if the devil himself was chasing them._

_Serena threw herself on the bed._

" _Are you okay?" Yuri asked._

" _Yeah I just… feel overwhelmed," she confessed._

" _Was the duel against Barrett that tough it seemed-"_

" _Huh! Please, the duel was easier than I expected, I didn't even have to use Crimson Fox' second effect."_

_Yuri raised his eyebrow, he could ask about the second effect but he could leave that for later. "Then what's wrong?"_

" _None of it feels… real… everything is happening in the blink of an eye, I'm… I'm angery, frustrated, scared, after everything that I've learned, my world is upside down, and with just one duel I made you my bodyguard and gave myself some freedom, but it doesn't feel real, like everything is off, like the Professor is going to walk in and say that he didn't mean anything, and that he'll be watching me even more… I… I still want him… want_ someone _to be proud of me! And for so long it's been the Professor who I wanted that respect and acknowledgment from and now… now I feel like a foolish kid."_

" _You know, there is someone very proud of you Serena," Yuri said._

" _And who's that?" Serena asked skeptically, looking away._

_Yuri's hand was gently placed over her head, making her look up… only not to be met with Yuri's usual amethyst eyes, but eyes made of gold._

" _I quite am, my dear." _ _Zarc said._

_Serena's eyes widened as Zarc patted her head with a sweet smile on his...Yuri's face, the voice was completely different, a bit more mature than Yuri's, a bit deeper, both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. "You did amazing Serena, you have far exceeded my expectations and I am quite proud of you, as is Ray I am sure."_

" _I… it… it was nothing I…" a faint blush appeared on Serena's face, not used to this kind of affection… or any affection really. Zarc patting her head like that felt strange yet… really pleasant and nice._

" _I've had confidence in you from the start, but winning that quickly, snatching victory from defeat, fighting ferocious and wild just like your monsters, you were simply magnificent, and I can't wait to see you grow stronger."_

_Serena's eyes widened, and just as she could say anything Zarc placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. Serena froze as she looked at Zarc, giving her a gentle smile, no hint of a lie or condescension._

_Serena's shoulders started to shake as everything finally crashed down on her, and tears fell down her cheeks, she gasped a breath as tears started running down her cheeks as she started wailing._

_Zarc's eyes widened before taking Serena into his arms and started running his hand through her hair, letting the ponytail down. Serena clung to Zarc and buried her head in his neck. "Shh it's gonna be alright," he whispered to Serena, hugging her tightly._

_Serena could feel Ray's presence there as well, giving her comfort, as if also hugging her tightly with Zarc, and she understood what Yuri ment; she could feel Ray's bride in her, true bride, happiness and excitement overwhelm her, giving her emotions she never before had the chance to feel. She was not used to feeling these things, uncertain and afraid, the need to run and yet wanting to stay, wanting to stay in this comfort, to be hugged again, to be kissed again, she wanted it so much. She hugged Zarc loser as more and more tears continued to fall, with Zarc running his hand through her hair as he kept whispering to her that everything will be okay, that all of them will get what they want and need and nothing will stand in their way to fix everything._

…

…

…

_She had stopped crying for a few minutes now, but she didn't leave Zarc's arms._

" _Are you feeling better?" Zarc asked, rubbing his hands through her hair gently._

" _A...a bit," Serena answered._

_Zarc gave her a smile. An honest-to-goodness sincere smile. "That's alright, you've been through a lot in the past few days; all this change must be hard. You are incredibly strong but you're still a child."_

_Serena wiped the tears from her face. "You're...you're really good at this," she said with a small smile._

" _Yeah, Ray and I were each other's pillars, my parents were never around, and hers… might as well have not been either, so when she needed me, I was there, comforting her, loving her, like she deserved, and she always did the same for me."_

" _He's right,"_ _Serena heard Ray whisper._ " _Zarc and I were each other's everything, a best friend, a shoulder to cry on,someone to share the pain and joy with, we were always there for one another, while the world faded away for us, we became the most important thing to the other."_

" _Serena, you are a strong girl, we trust you and Yuri to maintain this lie for Akaba, and grow stronger until you can bring us back, and once you do, everyone on this island will pay for what they did, Heartland and its people will be back to the way that they were before just as Ruri and Yuto desire. Rin and Yugo will obtain the life that they've always wanted, away from the constant worry about having enough money to live, and Yuzu and Yuya will be protected and happy. And you will get the ultimate freedom, people will never underestimate you again, you will have power beyond your wildest dreams, and you will have us, you and Yuri will never have to be alone again, do you understand? This is what we're working towards, these are your new motivations, do you understand my dear?"_

_Serena looked into Zarc's golden eyes and nodded. Zarc chuckled and smiled widely at Serena giving her another tight hug, and placing another kiss on the side of Serena's head. "Now we'll be here when any of you need us, no matter how small a matter is, you can come to us,"_

_A few tears fell down Serena's cheek, giving Zarc a small smile. Zarc whipped them out gently and let Serena rest her head on his shoulder._

_A few minutes later as Serena felt better, she felt a small shift, looking abc at Zarc she saw that the golden eyes were replaced with Yuri's usual amethyst eyes, he looked unsure of what to do, she knew that she was hardly given affection, but Yuri… he probably had had it worse than even her._

_Serena wasn't an affectionate person, that she knew. She wasn't used to it at all, she had hardened herself in order to prove that she wasn't some spoiled little girl who couldn't do anything by herself. She couldn't imagine what Yuri had, the respect and fear were one thing, but the_ lack _of any affection, love and comfort was another._

_Serena wrapped her arms around Yuri's neck, giving him a tight hug, for his own benefit, as well as hers._

_Yuri's eyes widened in confusion. For a few seconds he wasn't sure what to do or how to respond. With a small nudge from Zarc, Yuri relaxed and hugged her back. Another strange warm feeling filled his chest. It was soft and gentle, nothing as spine chilling or as mind numbing as the power and sensations from Zarc's powers and the darkness, but this… this felt nice, really nice._

_Yuri closed his eyes leaning more towards Serena and hugging her tighter, a genuine smile touching his lips. He'd like this feeling to stay too._

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Ever since Serena's days have been easy going for her, she would stay in her room or head out of the door with Yuri and walk around talking or head to his personal garden. She would sometimes ask about the plants and flowers and Yuri would answer her usually. Frustration would eat at Serena at times though so she would find someone to duel and Yuri would watch dutifully and with great amusement as Serena beat duelist after duelist. Considering that all of her monsters were Dark attributed they would be easy to use if the two of them ever teamed up together to duel. Which from where Yuri was looking, they didn't need at all.

It was the beginning of another day and Serena stirred in her bed, having a strange feeling. She opened her eyes looking into the cream colored ceiling for a few seconds before hearing a small sound of purring. Confused, Serena sat up and raised her eyebrow looking around her room before she noticed something strange by her feet.

A transparent yellow and black striped tail with a pink bow on it was waving lazily in the air and moving around.

"What the - !" Serena yelled before a head poked through the end of her bed, the small monster smiled, it was a cute yellow and black striped thing, with a small fang that poked out over…her lip.

Serena was overly confused but refused to scream and alarm any of the Obelisk Force to come in. She might tell Yuri about this later, but she wasn't gonna let any other student know about this. The monster smiled widely before jumping on Serena's bed and crawled closer to ...she purred and dropped herself over Serena, wrapping her hands -which Serena saw had huge claws- around her.

Serena tensed for a few seconds before realizing that the cute little monster was hugging and nuzzling her, purring softly. Serena took a good look at the monster, seeing the half moon mask over her face and the other pink bows over her wrists.

"Are you… a new Lunalight?" she asked.

The new Lunalight looked up to Serena and nodded.

"That's strange, Ray didn't say anything about even more cards," Serena muttered, even though she was excited about having more monsters. "Huh what is it?" she asked, looking through her extra deck to find her new monster.

"That's strange, you're not in here… and you're a little small to be an Extra Deck monster aren't you?"

The monster mewed a little, placing her head on Serena's lap, who tried to pet her, but pouted since her new monster was intangible. "Hmm, you must be a main deck monster then," Serena concluded before grabbing her main deck and searching through it.

"Oh there you are, Lunalight Tiger," Serena said with a smile, Tiger's cute smile widened more, and her purring became higher. Serena looked at the card and at the one after it to see yet another new Lunalight monster.

"Lunalight Wolf," Serena said, blinking before the other monster materialized beside her as well, making Serena gasp and stare at the monster before grinning excitedly. She looked at the cards and was confused by them, they looked quite strange, they were red and green with strange numbers under what seemed like arrow heads on each side and the cards were orange and _green_.

"W...what are these strange cards?" Serena wondered.

" _They're called Pendulum cards,"_ Serena heard Ray speak with a strange giddiness in her voice.

"Pendulum? Is that another summoning method from another dimension? Why weren't these cards in the extra deck?" Serena asked.

"Well, yes and no," Ray said unhelpfully. "I'll explain in a few hours. For now hide these, and don't let anyone except Yuri see them, especially not Leo, understood?"

Serena nodded. "Yes Ray."

"Good, you'll see all of us again soon, Serena."

Serena smiled and nodded, she really liked the other girls. Serena smiled as she got out of bed and began her morning routine, washing her face and brushing her teeth as she reflected on the past few weeks. She used to think that she was fine on her own, that she didn't need anyone's help. She had to prove herself to the Professor in order to show that she was a capable girl, she was questioned on several decisions and denied several requests to the point that she wanted to yell. But the girls never question her abilities or power, they often question her thoughts and ideas but it would be more in a general sense of what she was thinking and how she came to these conclusions.

Yuzu would always be sweet and supportive and is often the mediator, she loved flowers especially the way that they could come together to form a rainbow of colors over the ground as sunlight washed over them, and was very acrobatic. Yuzu once had said that if the girls do come to Standard, she would cook them a big meal, Rin had offered to help since she and Yugo had needed to learn and improvise with ingredients that they had in their home all the time, Ruri on the other hand said that she could apparently burn water and that she was forbidden from entering any kitchen ever again. Serena herself had never been in an actual kitchen before… well, to try and cook that is.

Ruri would often be stressed with hints of fear inside of her because of the war being waged around her but the four of them get her to relax and get her to start teasing but does so very in a way that never gets on Serena's or on anyone's nerves. Back before the war Ruri would love visiting coffee shops and hanging out with some of the girls around, she loved making new styles with her hair and when she and her brother Shun would visit the park to hang out with friends she would have been the first to try and climb a tree just for the hell of it.

Rin was always highly sarcastic and deadpan though she was never truly mean, she loved winter most of all, the cold winds, the sounds of rain hitting the windows, and she loved thunderstorms. She said that she would turn the lights off and pull out some candles to watch a movie with Yugo while they drink hot cocoa and watch horror or action movies.

It made her happy to get to know these girls, but it also showed her how much of the world she was missing, how much she was denied and shielded from, and she wanted to try it all now, the movies, the strange food and snacks, riding on a D-wheel, having sleepovers, even singing karaoke with friends… She wanted friends.

And Ray and Zarc? They promised it all; to give them all the dimensions as their playgrounds, to be free of all these chinese placed on them by the Professor, by the worlds and by powers that don't care for any of them, and she couldn't wait to break them all.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Yuri had been summoned to the Professor's… throne room, at this point Yuri had lost any pretences of what it was. It had been a few weeks since Serena had defeated Barret and had gotten a modicum of freedom. Yuri was expected to give a report every now and again about Serena and her whereabouts, and unsurprisingly he seemed to be the most successful bodyguard that Serena had had in the past several years, considering the fact that you know, she doesn't run from him.

Yuri reached the room and went inside standing in front of the professor before bowing to him then giving the man his usual smirk.

"You've asked to see me Professor?" Yuri asked, wanting this meeting over quickly.

"Indeed. How have you been keeping up with Serena? You are often seen together simply...talking," Akaba said.

' _So is that what he wants? Someone spying closely on Serena?'_

"Lady Serena is doing fine. She doesn't seem rebellious when there are hardly any constrictions around to rebel at," Yuri replied. Serena hasn't done anything a normal girl wouldn't do; she would leave her room to eat or get some air, go for walks or enter the library. Had she really been forbidden from doing any of that _without_ a body guard? No wonder the girl was so uptight all the time, if she needed to prove herself capable just to get out of her room it'd drive anyone up the wall.

"You seem to be the only body guard that she has taken any… liking to."

"That's probably because I don't treat her like a fragile china doll."

Akaba frowned. "All I want is to protect Serena, I see her as if she was my own daughter after all."

" _That's not the good thing he thinks it is," _Zarc snarked, the dislike and hatred from him was bubbling inside of Yuri, the desire to harm and destroy getting stronger, yet both of them take care not to show it or act on it.

"Far be it from me to disagree, Professor, and I am doing what I can to keep her safe from anything that she can't handle on her own." ' _Which at this point was nothing.'_ Yuri thought.

"Of course," Akaba agreed. "You will soon head with her to Standard in order to retrieve the Yuzu once more, but I don't expect these girls to stay willingly or not try to escape, or for other people to come looking for them, after all the people from the Xyz dimension are getting craftier and more ruthless, and I do not believe that they would let one of their own simply get taken."

"Indeed, there is no question that these girls would fight back," a new voice said, from the shadows came an old man in a lab coat with white hair that reaches down his shoulder with dark bags under his eyes, grinning insanely like a mad doctor.

"Yuri, this is the Doktor, and he has offered a solution to deal with… our soon to be rebellious guest," Akaba said.

"And we found a perfect solution for such a thing," he said in a high pitched voice before reaching into one of his pockets and producing a glass jar with a brown bug inside of it. Each side had three pink eyes, and three legs with a tail that ends with a stinger.

Yuri raised his eyebrow at the thing, waiting for more elaboration on it.

"This is my greatest creation yet," the Doktor said with a mad chuckle. "The Fusion Parasite."

"Fusion Parasite?" Yuri asked, raising his eyebrow. "Indeed, their card is perfect for Fusion decks, and more than that, my Parasite can crawl into its victim's brain and take control of them. No loved ones would matter, no thoughts of their own could override the control, and all they'll ever desire is to please the professor. Simply mindless good little girls under my absolute control thanks to these parasites! What do you think of, Predaplant Duelist?"

"I think they're quite disgusting," Yuri replied in a board tone.

Fury took over the Doktor's face and replaced the smug joy he had, his hands balled into fists as he stomped the ground. "Why you _little-"_

"That's enough, thank you Doktor, if the girls do prove to be more trouble than anticipated then these Parasites would be perfect to use."

"Indeed, and even if their loved ones so much as managed to get to come in and try to free them, the girls would fight them themselves! And they'd love every minute of it" The Doktor explained with a manic grin on his face and started laughing.

Yuri felt the rage and hatred coming from Zarc in waves, Zarc had grown protective over these girls, he already had the connection to them through Ray as if they were her little sisters, he could easily see the differences and similarities each of these girls had to Ray and to each other through the boys' eyes, and he had grown to adore each and everyone of them.

These Parasites sickened him, to take all the control and choice from the girls, to turn them into mindless drones, into little dolls to do with as the sick bastard desired made Zarc see crimson red. He wanted to grow his claws out and slit the Doktor's throat before spitting on his face as the man bleeds to death, he probably would have done it too if it didn't disturb their plans.

It would be easy to simply kill Akaba right now, but that wouldn't do, Zarc still needed the boys to fall in line and follow his words, and if peace comes then that won't happen, Zarc and Ray needed to return, and after that revenge is inevitable. Ray needed to know about this, immediately.

Akaba gave Yuri a few more commands, telling him that soon they would send a spy to infiltrate Standard in order to gather information and changes, he had not expected Reiji to bring other Summoning Methods to the Standard Dimension, therefore, he needed someone to infiltrate the place, who wouldn't be suspected of anything while Yuri and Serena work together to start collecting the other girls.

In the Professor's mind Serena would be too stubborn to listen to anyone who isn't the professor, after all the only thing that she wanted was his attention, so following his orders would be all she would want. A week ago that logic would have been sound a week ago, but not anymore, and Yuri wasn't about to alarm Akaba about such a thing.

Akaba dismissed him, and Yuri gave a bow, with one last smug smirk at the Doktor he headed to see Serena and warn Lady Ray of what the Professor had planned.

…

…

…

Yuri knocked on Serena's door before entering it.

Serena was looking through her two new monsters marveling at the orange and green borders and arrows on the sides, trying to come up with new strategies of how to use them. When she heard the knocks on the door, she looked back as Yuri came in looking… well the best word to describe him would be a mix of being disturbed and infuriated, his eyes getting a strange sparkling glow, as if turning into a galaxy.

"Serena," he said after a small pause. "Could I possibly talk to Lady Ray through you?" He said seriously.

"Of course, Yuri...but what's…"

"I need to talk to her _at once_."

"...Alright," Serena replied in confusion before standing up, she blinked a few times before she felt herself falling slowly and sat in the garden that all the girls gathered in. Serena sighed before a small sound came from around her. Serena looked around before something jumped up and tackled Serena to the grass. Serena was ready for a fight before she froze seeing a familiar looking monster lying over her.

"Mew," Lunalight Blue Cat replied before she leapt towards her master. The blue-haired Beast-Warrior purred and nuzzled Serena happily, licking her face once before settling in on Serena's lap, tail swishing happily. The purple haired girl gasped as she placed her hand over Blue Cat's hair and started petting her, making the cat purr happily in her arms. One by one, her other Lunalights arrived to keep her company until Ray and Yuri were done talking.

"This is...amazing…" Serena whispered. She didn't have many friends, except for them. And unlike most duelists who blamed their cards for their downfall, Serena was grateful for her Lunalights being there for her.

Many of her Lunalights came closer, nuzzling Serena or petting her. White Rabbit was apparently pounding on something with Crimson Fox flipping something around in a wooden bucket as White Rabbit increased the pounding. After ten rounds of this, Crimson Fox pulled out some white doughy blob and handed it to Serena.

"A rice cake?" asked Serena, recalling where White Rabbit's inspiration came from. White Rabbit nodded happily with a cute smile on her face while Crimson Fox gave her a toothy grin. Serena smiled, taking the rice ball in thanks. It wasn't real - it was all in her mind and she probably couldn't really eat it - but she tried anyway making her Lunalights grin wider at their mistress taking this offering.

She had put her heart and soul into making her deck. She loved her monsters with all her heart. Together they were strong, and they've never failed her before. As long as she had them, she would never lose trust in them or their powers. Was this how the other girls felt about their monsters too? Probably; after all, Rin, Ruri and Yuzu always talk about their own cards adoringly.

The rest of the Lunalights began to play as well, with Fox chasing Rabbit, or even Panther Dancer chasing the others, and Leo Dancer pouncing at Yellow Marten from out of nowhere. With even Tiger and Wolf joining in, even though they were new they were as playful as the rest of the monsters, making a place for themselves between the others while the other Lunalights welcome them with open arms. Serena couldn't help but giggle and enjoy every minute of it… before getting dragged into these games as well, running and dancing alongside her monsters unaware yet of the conversation happening between Yuri and Ray.

…

…

...

"They created a _what?!"_ Ray said between disgust and horror, her eyes wide before twitching with anger.

"A parasite, my lady," Yuri replied, dutifully reflecting the same emotions that Ray seemed to have. "Meant to take control of the girls, and keep them obedient to Professor Akaba. In his words, no loved ones would matter, no thoughts of their own could override the control, and all they'll ever desire is to please the professor."

"That disgusting piece of filth! I should rip his heart out with my fucking bare hands and feed it to my Sirens while he watches as he dies," Ray snarled, a dark aura surrounding he. She seemed to pause and narrow her eyes before turning back to Yuri. "Tell me something my dear."

"Yes?"

"Did that _Doktor_ happen to tell you if these _parasites_ would harm the girls in any way?"

"Harm them? No, my lady, I don't think that he would consider Akaba wants the girls alive, and he did order _me_ not to harm them."

"Yes, he might want the girls unharmed… physically, mentally however?"

"You think the Parasite could harm the girls," Yuri stated and Ray nodded.

"You love nature right Yuri? And these things are classified as Parasites, correct?" Ray began and Yuri nodded. "Tell me, once a parasite is attached to a host what is their prime directive?"

"To feed off of the host, or to multiply," Yuri said, realizing what Ray meant. "You think these parasites would feed on the girls if they are attached to them."

"Yes," Ray replied. "Parasites need a host to survive and function, they take from the host and don't give anything back that is the definition of a parasitic relation. These Parasites are small so their effects will not show quickly, but soon enough as they feed on the brain, the host would start to weaken, higher brain functions would shut down slowly, bodies remain as healthy as possible for the parasite to take from more, and by the end, in a few weeks, or maybe even months, the hosts are mindless husks kept alive by these parasites until the usefulness ends."

"So why would the Professor even agree to something like that?" Yuri asked.

"Either he doesn't know, or simply doesn't care. And based on everything he's done so far, I'd believe the latter. He also could believe that he would revive me soon so whether or not these parasites actually do any permanent harm is irrelevant."

"Maybe the Parasites aren't that dangerous, you can't actually know," Yuri suggested, all of what Lady Ray said sounded reasonable enough and could be true, but they had no evidence of it, the Doktor did not see fit to explain every intricate detail of what these Parasites would do and for that he was grateful, he'd rather squash these things with his boots than see them being used. Yuri had called these Parasites disgusting to the Doktor's face in the most bored tone he could manage. How infuriating it made the old fossil gave Yuri a sense of satisfaction.

"Maybe," Ray said, crossing her arms. "But I'm certainly not gonna give those fucking pieces of shit bastards the opportunity to find out!" Ray's eyes glowed and a dark aura surrounded her, a few scales appeared on Serena's body, over her cheek and on her wrists. It reminded Yuri a bit of the scales that were on the Sirens' skins.

"Ray, not yet," Zarc said, taking over Yuri, and placing his hand on Ray's shoulder, and placing two fingers over her chin.

"I'm going to murder them both!"

"Once we are whole again, you can unleash the worst punishment, the most horrible tortures you can think of, but you have to be patient."

Ray snarled and backed away from Zarc fuming with hatred and anger. "You're right," she growled, scowling, her extended nails looked sharp enough to cut someone's throat, but she bawled her hand into a fist, receding her claws. "I'm going to tell the girls this. It's better if we're all prepared for everything mentally, me included, and I don't want what happened with Rin to happen again."

"Of course my love," Zarc said, walking closer and placing a kiss on Ray's lips. "You take care of these girls when I can't."

Ray nodded. "Do the same for these boys too," she replied. Zarc nodded, giving her another kiss before returning the control back to Yuri.

"Thank you for informing me Yuri," Ray said before giving Yuri a hug. Yuri's eyes widened a bit before smiling and hugging her back, resting his chin tentatively on Ray's shoulder. "And one more thing," she said with a smirk.

Yuri gasped as power flared inside him again, giving him a heady feeling as power and darkness spread through his veins. He was panting and smiling by the end of it, a little high on the power.

Ray smirked. "Once we return, this power will and much more will be yours and your other counterparts, now we wait until the other boys take Zarc's powers and darkness as their own as well, and everything will settle into place."

Yuri chuckled. "I'm quite curious to meet them now. I wonder if they will be fun to play with."

Ray matched it. "You'll get to know soon enough, I'm sure," she replied and caressed Yuri's cheek affectionately. "As for me, I'm going to need to inform my girls of this… disgusting development. And Yuri, always keep vigilant."

"Of course, my lady," Yuri said with a nod as Ray returned Serena back to her body to stew over the information, she would tell the girls later that night, they needed to know and plan ahead.

...

…

...

"What?!"

" _What?!"_

" _WHAT?!"_

" _Are you fucking kidding me?!"_

_Ray had gathered the girls that night to inform them about the Parasite ordeal, needless to say their reactions were as volatile as hers had been, even worse._

" _ **Parasites**_ _to_ _ **control**_ _us! Are you fucking kidding me?!" Rin yelled._

_Serena screamed in anger and frustration, while Yuzu looked like she was about to throw up, and Ruri hugged herself looking extremely pale._

" _I feel like I need a fucking shower," Rin said, rubbing her arms in disgust. "As if I didn't hate bugs enough."_

" _It's disgusting," Yuzu wailed, wanting to scream and go to that so-called Doktor to give him an ass kicking._

" _I can't believe I actually thought that the Professor was a great man once, he actually-" Serena started to say, full of anger, hatred and revolution before Ruri cut her off with a scream._

_Tears started to fall down Ruri's cheeks and her body started shaking before she let out a scream startling everyone and placing all of their attention on Ruri as she started to hit the ground with her fists._

" _Ruri…" Ray whispered as the black haired girl kept crying fear and anger and disgust coming off of her in waves._

" _I HATE HIM, I HATE HIM! He comes to our dimension and invades it, destroys it until no home is left untouched, the people are sad and broken and homeless. And now this?! Taking everything from me, even my own mind and body would be invaded and violated by disgusting parasites to be toyed with and used! I would fight Yuto or Shun or any of my friends on his orders and I'd be_ happy _about it," Ruri spat. "I hate him! I fucking hate him! I want him to suffer! I want him to break! I want him to fucking die!" she screamed like a wailing banshee._

" _I know Ruri, I know," Ray said soothingly kneeling in front of Ruri and placing her hand comfortably over her cheek. "He will suffer, I promise you that, he will pay for everything that he's done, death is too good for that man, you will take your revenge on him, I swear," Ray vowed, hugging Ruri tightly who continued to scream and cry. Rin, Yuzu and Serena came closer, also hugging Ruri and each other as she wailed._

_They all knew one thing, every person who had ever hurt them, every person who had caused them pain, tried to control their lives, is going to find themselves in hell, in pain and agony for everything that they've done or attempted to do. Academia and Leo Akaba would be the first to burn to ash._

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Serena didn't leave her room without Yuri for days, fear and disgust was masked by anger and the occasional 'sickness'. Leaving Serena alone since technically she was in the sights of her own bodyguard most of the time, and wasn't that a novel concept? Yuri had always been vicious, a natural predator, he always seemed so strong and ready to attack, only acting politely to their superiors.

With Serena however, he seemed actually friendly. They were few and far between but genuine smiles did seem to grace their faces at times, as they talked and whispered between themselves.

Serena was walking through the library looking through some books, some of them had several empty pages, others had words erased while some contained strange Duel Monsters that no one had heard of before. Rumors said some of the teachers could understand or make some sense of what these books, but not all of it, which was why public displays of these books were acceptable, and if any of the students were to figure out what these books talked about they should inform one of the teachers, for extra credit of course.

Serena had caught a strange name of a monster called Yubel just as Yuri arrived cutting her off. "Lady Serena," Yuri greeted as he strood towards her with his usual smirk on his face. "I bring wondrous news," he said with an overdramatic bow, making Serena stifle a snicker.

"Oh? Do tell," she said closing the book and placing it back on the shelf.

"The Professor summoned us. We are to head to Standard, effective immediately."

Serena grinned, she was so excited at finally leaving this dreary place which she had come to loathe even more, wanting to choke or punch any student that came within two feet of her. Luckily Ray and Yuri would usually be there to stop her… unless either of them was looking for some entertainment… Mostly Yuri.

"Finally!" Serena shrieked before pausing and giving a sigh. "Wait who's coming with us?" she asked with a deadpan look on her face. Akabe did say that he intended to send a spy with them, to do his own research of the dimension, and whoever the spy was would surely disturb any plants that the two of them had.

"A fun little boy called Sora Shun'in," Yuri replied with his usual smirk.

"Fun?" Serena asked, raising her eyebrow, not sure what Yuri ment.

"You'll see. Now come on," Yuri said and Serena followed, excited to finally leave Academia and be somewhere else, away from the students, the teachers and especially the Professor.

They reached the outside of the main building where a younger boy who looked around twelve years old seemed to be waiting as he leaned against the wall with his hands behind his head and a… lollipop in his mouth.

He noticed them and stood straight. "Yuri and the lady Serena," the boy greeted.

"Sora Shun'in, are you ready then?" Yuri asked.

"Yep." Sora answered before looking at Serena, not sure what her role was in all of this. All the Professor told him was that Yuri would inform them both of any extra orders that were given to all of them. "But what about her? The professor didn't exactly preife her on what to do."

"Lady Serena knows what her mission is, she will accompany you for spying while she looks for a certain important person there, and you will provide her back up if she needs it."

".. Of course," Sora said. "What about you?" he asked looking at Yuri.

"I have a different mission that I need to accomplish," Yuri replied. "But I will also be keeping an eye on Lady Serena when I am able."

"Alright then," Sora said with a nod accepting these information as if coming from the Professor himself.

"So this mission is going to take a few days if not weeks, where are we staying?" Serena asked.

"We'll get a hotel room or a few," Yuri replied.

Serena nodded before she paused for a second looking at her jacket, she pulled at the sleeve a bit before removing her Duel Desk and handing it to Yuri, then removed the jacket and threw it at the stone monument near them.

"Um… why did you-" Sora asked, and Yuri raised his eyebrow in confusion as well.

"This is an undercover mission right?" Serena asked, making Sora nod. "So if anyone in Standard can recognize the jacket then they would realize that I'm from Academia immediately, it's best that I don't take chances and not give myself too much attention."

"Who in Standard would even know about Academia?" Sora asked.

Serena shrugged. "Who knows," she said as if that was the end of the conversation.

Sora shrugged. He doubted anyone in Standard actually knew about Academia, and if there were any Xyz scum around to recognize them, then he would easily take care of them, but if Lady Serena felt better leaving her own jacket behind then he wouldn't argue, it seemed rather time wasting at best.

Though to Serena, removing her jacket wasn't just meant as a way to lay low, after all, she was finally leaving for Standard, leaving the damn island behind, leaving Academia, the jacket was a reminder of where she was a prisoner, a small girl in a gilded cage, shedding the jacket was her first step unto removing the shackles that it represented, freeing her. She could have sworn that she felt lighter the moment she took it off. She smiled letting out a small smile of relief and taking back her Duel Desk from Yuri.

The three of them exchanged looks together and nodded before activating the transporting feature on the Duel Desks. And with a bright purple light they finally transported themselves to the Standard Dimension ready to do their own missions.


	11. Break A Leg

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I'm finally back, no I haven't abandoned this one don't worry. Anyway, the reason it took this long to write a new chapter is because I have a job now, yeah, and it's taking away from my time, so along with my classes, my studies and my job I don't have all that time to write. Also I actually started to write a Heartland chapter before deciding that a duel between Yuzu and Yuya would be far more fun to write so I did, and here we are, as well as already writing another duel in the next chapter, so yeah, there's a good reason this took so long. 
> 
> hope enjoy, please leave a comment.

Shuzo led Pegasus and his bodyguard into a seat in order to let him watch the duel, before calling Mana and Joey to bring some of the kids in to watch as well. Shuzo was very nervous, though. Yuya had always made great performances but he had never dueled seriously before battling Strong Ishijima, and he really wanted the president of Industrial Illusions to be impressed and not feel offended. After all, he did have a point about Yuya's new cards; no one had any idea where they came from or what they could do. In time if Yuya was the _only_ one who has these new cards, then he would be accused of cheating and his reputation would be ruined. Yuya had no choice but to accept the deal.

As soon as everyone arrived, Mana had hugged her uncle, making him laugh and pat her head as Joey ushered the children to their seats. Joey himself couldn't wait to see what Yuya's Pendulum Cards could do (and probably go challenge him later on after he had a bit more skill on his new Red-Eye cards)

"Do your best!" Gongenzaka yelled.

"Show us what you guys got!" Mana cupped her hands over her mouth and shouted.

The children all cheered, waving their hands together, they couldn't wait to see what Yuya and Yuzu had installed for them this time.

Pegasus watched in glee as the two duelists walked in. Yuya looked a little worried before putting on a show-stopping smile and raising his hands. The two of them seemed to have changed their outfits, Yuzu now stood wearing a white blouse, black breeches with knee-high boots, a red coat that seemed to belong to a ring leader as its back reached down to Yuzu's legs and split, it had golden buttons and epaulets over her shoulders, with a tophat decorated with red ribbon, and over her eyes, she wore a white mask.

Yuya on the other hand wore

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" The red-eyed boy shouted cheerfully.

"For the first time today, we will give you a very special show!" Yuzu continued.

"An entertaining duel for your eyes full of color and smiles, brought to you by the miracle of Action Dueling," the two of them said, extending their hands forwards. "Action Field on!" Yuya and Yuzu said snapping their fingers before everything went dark, and the crowd gasped, waiting with bated breath.

Two spotlights started moving around, showing glimpses at the action field before settling on both duelists standing across from each other, and the crowds cheered higher before more lights shone around the Action Field showing the blue tent decorated with golden stars and sparkling all around them, with the two standing on a stage. In the middle of it was a poll with several robes dangling from it, above the two of them was a tight robe with two planks across each other above the crowd itself.

"Duel! Duel! Duel! Duel!" Everyone inside the tent shouted.

"You must love this uncle," Mana cheered, wishing she brought popcorn.

"Pretty little fairies versus fun loving circus animals and magicians, it simply sounds like so much fun!" Pegasus said with glee. He couldn't wait to see what these two could do.

Mana giggled and set her eyes back at the stage with her own glee clear in her eyes.

**(Yuzu: 8000)... (Yuya:8000)**

"I'll start!" Yuzu yelled and drew a card with a smile, "And I'll begin with this," Yuzu said, choosing a card and placing it on her Duel Desk "I summon Opera the Melodious Diva into the field!" Yuzu yelled.

And with a shower of stars, the monster rose to the field, she had pink hair, a golden headpiece, and wings, she wore a purple dress with see-through short sleeves, the blue fabric around her chest, and the bottom of her flurry dress was blue music notes decorating it. Opera waved to the audience with a smile and a giggle and the children waved back. (2300 ATK).

"And I'm not done yet!" Yuzu said. "Since I have a Melodious Monster on the field I can Special Summon Canon the Melodious Diva from my hand!"

From a circle of light rose another Melodious monster, she had short blue hair that stood spiked over her head, with a golden mask that showed her eyes, she wore a short blue dress, with a matching blue cravat around her neck and purple bodice and blue and black checkered skirt, along with long sleeves with pink poofy frills over her shoulder. (1400 ATK)

"Now Ladies and Gentlemen! Are you ready for a treat?" Yuzu asked, making the crowd cheer high. "Since I have two level four monsters on my field I can open the Overlay Network!"

Yuzu declared as a portal opened, a pitch-black galaxy filled with golden and blue stars swirling around. The crowd gasped and Yuya's eyes widened before grinning widely.

"Oh, gods! Oh, gods!" Mana shouted, jumping up and down.

"Yuzu… Yuzu's _Xyz summoning_?!" Shuzu asked, his jaw hit the ground.

The two Melodious Monsters grind and turned into pink streams of energy and flew around before going into the swirling vortex, their giggles filling the field.

" _Let the sweet sound of your songs be heard by your sisters, sweet crescendo that spreads through the worlds. Xyz Summon, Rank 4 Ballad the Melodious Songstress."_

The Melodious Monster had long black hair raised up, styled into curly locks, she wore a dark blue long dress, with music notes embroidered on the chest in white fabric, with white sheer fabric that descended from the waist, along with a slit on the right side. (2400 ATK)

The cheers rang louder than ever as the new monster arrived giving a small curtsey and waving at the crowd.

"Next I activate Ballad's effect, I can remove one overlay unit from her and Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Melodious Monster from my deck!"

"Wow, seriously!" Yuya said before his eyes widened, "Wait are you summoning-"

Yuzu grinned as she Special Summoned her next Melodious Monster "Come to the field, Aria the Melodious Diva!"

"Oh oh…" Joey said.

"Whoo boy, and on her first turn too," Mana said. "I hope Yuya can actually showcase his monsters."

"Oh? Why is that?" Pegasus asked.

"Aria is pretty strong, if she's Special Summoned then Melodious Monsters can't be destroyed in battle or targeted by card effects."

"My, that's powerful," Pegasus said, and Mana nodded.

"Yuzu, you could just go a little easy on Yuya," Shuzo whispered to himself, even though he was very proud of Yuzu for that powerful move.

"I place one card face down, and end my turn," she declared, placing a card in the slot and ending her turn.

" _Now let's see what you got Yuya,"_ Yuzu thought, hoping Yuya truly did get stronger with his Pendulum cards. She couldn't afford to go easy on him, even in a duel like this, not with what she knew was coming, she needed to push him forward, push him to win, push him to Zarc, it was the only way that they would be safe, that they would survive.

"Big sister Yuzu is going all out," Ayu said with a big smile. "Do you think Yuya could match her?" she asked her friends who sat beside her.

"This is all giving me the shivers," Futoshi said.

"We really don't know what big brother Yuya is capable of yet," Tatsuya replied "I think he has things we don't know about yet.". Ayu nodded, watching with a big smile.

…

…

...

"My turn!" Yuya said, looking at the cards in his hands, his heart quicking a bit as he looked at Yuzu's monsters, then at Yuzu herself, with the audience's noise in the background. He took a deep breath before giving a smile. He had spent all of last night reading his monsters' effects and trying to see how they worked, he had figured most of the rules out and picked cards that would help his strategies a lot

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the fun has just begun! And for my first move, I will set the Pendulum scale!" Yuya declared showing the two monsters to Yuzu. "And for this, I'm using Scale Two Preformpal Drummerilla and Scale Five Performapal Coin Dragon." Yuya placing the two cards on either side of the Duel Desk.

The audience looked in alarm, expecting the two magicians that Yuya used against Strong. Instead, there was now a gorilla and a dragon floating in the air, a '2' and a '5' beneath their feet.

"Now," Yuya said, talking to the audience as well as Yuzu. "The point of the scales is to be able to Special Summon Monsters with levels between the two scales," Yuya explained. "So usually with these scales, I'd be able to Special Summon monsters with Levels three or four!

"But, that's not the only way to use these Pendulum Cards," Yuya added. "For you see, when these cards are placed on the Pendulum Scale, they have completely different effects to be used."

"Ooh that's right," Pegasus said, "His magicians did something completely unexpected that duel! I wonder what these ones could do."

"First as my dear opponent has shown you a Special Summoning method as shall I!" Yuya said, showing a spell card in his hand. "I shall Fusion Summon a new Monster to the field." The red-eyed boy placed the spell card in the slot, "So I activate the spell card Polymerization!"

Several jaws also hit the floor, with Mana squeeing happily beside her uncle. "He's doing it! He's doing it!" Mana said, almost bouncing around like a pinball.

Gongenzaka's eyes widened. Yuya was taking the duel seriously, he wasn't fooling around at all, he wasn't summoning his Hippos or making jokes. Gongenzaka didn't think that he'd seen Yuya actively dueling seriously at all, always busy making jokes. He was proud of his friends but he had to wonder why all this change had happened, and what had triggered it?

"Now, I'll fuse my Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon with Stargazer Magician!"

The familiar Odd-Eyes Dragon and magician clad all in white rose up in the air as a fusion portal opened up behind Yuya as he brought his hand together and started his own chant.

" _Wielder of mysterious powers, become the bright light in the eyes of the dragon! Fusion Summon! Come forth! Arcane dragon wielder of ancient magic!Level 8, Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"_

A giant dragon with runes placed over his eyes instead of the usual green and red that belonged to red eyes appeared, with giant blue round crystals in his chest (3000 ATK)

"3000 attack?" Yuzu asked, that was one big powerful dragon.

"Yep, now we can have some real fun. I activate Coin Dragon's effect Once per turn I can give one of my dragon monsters the ability to banish any monster it goes to battle with oh and Yuzu… It absolutely does not target. and I also activate Drumdurilla's Pendulum effect, I can target one of my monsters and have their attack be raised by 600 ATK points. I can't target your monsters Yuzu, but _mine_ are fair game.

The coin on Coin Dragon's forehead glowed and Drummirilla started drumming on the drums that are his chest, the sound waves washing over Rune-eyes Pendulum Dragon

(3000 -) 3600 ATK)

"Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon attack Bellad the Melodious Diva!"

"Uh-oh," Yuzu gulped; Aria's biggest weakness was effects that didn't target it.

Rune-Eyes gave a roar as he ran towards Ballad. Yuzu looked around for an action card that could save her monster, she might be able to stop Rune-Eyes, maybe negate his attack and save her monster… but why wasn't he going for Aria first? Her Trap Card could have been useful but she can't target her monsters thanks to Aria's effect, even her own cards. Maybe that was what Yuya was anticipating? He didn't know her extra deck, but he knew her main deck all too well, was he anticipating something?

Yuzu saw a card that was over at the side and she went running towards it, jumping up on a giant yellow ball with a red star on it, she caught the card and activated it.

"I activate the action card Evasion, and negate Rune-Eyes' attack," Yuzu yelled.

"You negated one attack," Yuya said with a smirk. "But since Rune Eyes was Fusion Summoned by a level five or higher Spellcaster he can attack monsters three times."

Yuzu's eyes widened as Rune-Eyes attacked Ballad, making the Xyz Melodious scream.

"No!" Yuzu yelled.

**(Yuzu: 6800 )... (Yuya:8000)**

Ballad turned into the light as she left the stage and was banished.

"And another attack, go Rune-Eyes!"

Rune-Eyes roared once more and attacked Aria, making the Melodious Monster look in fear before she was hit with the dragon's head

**(Yuzu: 4800 )... (Yuya:8000)**

Aria gasped as she started to disappear and got banished as she turned into light and left the field.

"Woho Yuya!"Joey cheered.

"Way to go Yuya, that was so smart!" Mana yelled.

"I don't get it," a student said. "What did it mean by banish?"

"Yeah, can't Yuzu just bring those monsters back with a spell or a trap card?" Another one said.

"Banish and graveyard are two very different things," Joey said. "Banishing is kinda like going to another dimension while being destroyed is like being sent to the backyard, some monsters can be used from there, but if they were banished then they can't be used except in the rarest of occasions. There aren't a lot of decks that can work well with it though and there's usually a high price to pay to bring your banished cards back. For example, the Return from a Different Dimension Card allows you to bring back your banished monsters but you gotta sacrifice half ya life points to do so."

"In comparison to a monster in the graveyard through Monster Reborn, Call of the Haunted, Return to the Front. As well as monster effects that come from the graveyard, or even some monster effects that can summon from the graveyard," Mana continued.

"And Banishing is not destruction, so any card that has an effect that was triggered by being destroyed, does not get triggered at all if the monster was banished," Shuzo added.

"Wow…." some of the kids whispered, eyes bright at how their teachers accurately explained the terms so nicely. And seeing a live duel made them understand things far better, it was amazing how Yuzu and Yuya were using all these summoning methods and making a show out of it, not just banking on the summoning itself to hold the audience' attention.

"I place one card face down and end my turn," Yuya said with a wide grin.

Yuzu looked at the field stunned. Her two monsters, one of her best monsters even, was disposed of so easily, it was amazing and yet kind of infuriating. She looked up at the two Pendulum monsters hanging in the air, and it dawned on her that Yuya's entire deck had gone through a significant change. It didn't simply have a few new cards in it, it was completely different, and she had no idea how to deal with them, or how they work anymore.

She had to get her defense up... she had to destroy that dragon. Yuzu thought as she looked at her deck… there was a way to get rid of that dragon in her deck… and she knew exactly how.

"My turn!" Yuzu said drawing a card and grinning. "Since you have a monster on your field and I have none I can special Summon Solo the Melodious Songstress from my hand!"

The monster looked like a ballerina, with a red dress with a yellow fabric over her chest and she also wore red ballerina shoes as she stood balancing on one leg. On top of her head was a little helmet with two yellow Treble Clefs to resemble wings. (1600 ATK)

"Next I activate the spell card Photon Lead! This allows me to Special Summon any Level 4 or lower monster from my hand and I choose Tamtam the Melodious Diva. Say hello!"

The next Spell Card showed two well-known LIGHT monsters - Shining Angel and Nova Summoner - against a dark stormy background. Then, with a flash of light, Yuzu's monster emerged. Tamtam looked adorable, she had blue hair with a golden headdress, she had on a one-piece outfit with poofy green short shorts with melodic notes over them and equally green long sleeves. Her weapon was a red gong with a mallet to strike it with. (1000 ATK)

"And since Tamtam was Special Summoned while I have a Melodious Monster on the field I get to add a polymerization Spell from my deck or graveyard to my hand!"

Tamtam brought her fingers together and a ball of light shined between them as Yuzu got a polymerization card to her hand.

"Is she gonna fusion summon too?" Joey asked.

"These two are doing amazing! Keep it up!" Mana yelled.

"So much fire in them!" Shuzo shouted as if he would burn with the flames of their determination.

"I open the Overlay Network!" Yuzu declared and everyone gasped.

"Again?!" Mana asked excitedly. "She must be planning something really big!"

"Then why did she get the polymerization card to her hand if she wasn't gonna use it?" Ayu questioned.

"Maybe she's just holding on to it until she can use it?" Futoshi questioned.

Mana was practically vibrating on her seat. This was the hardest she had seen Yuya duel, and Yuzu was not holding back one bit, she had no idea what the two were capable of but she couldn't wait to see, and she knew that her uncle was the same way. He loved childish and adorable things, but he also loved seeing a good duel, and new strategies and these Pendulum monsters seemed nothing less than inventive.

From the way Mana was on the edge of her seat, it looked like a series of fireworks would blow off at any second. As a matter of fact…

Black and pink sparks of magic flew into the air as Mana's focus were on the duel and suddenly the magic exploded like fireworks, causing the children to look in awe. Sometimes she'd be so excited about something that her magic would get a little...haywire. Joey had to shake her a bit just to get her to put her magic under control. Mana looked sheepish as she realized what she was doing, though everyone thought that it was part of the show.

Yuzu's two monsters turned to pink lights as they flew into the newly opened Overlay Network, getting sucked into the starry galaxy before a blinding light shot from it.

" _Beautiful sounding angel leading singers and players into an enchanting song of wonder, rise to the stage and show yourself to your audience! Xyz Summon Rank 4 Ballata the Melodious Maestra!"_

The Monster had red short hair and a sweet porcelain face, she had on a short black strapless dress with gold and white sparkles on like stars, with a long sleeve jacket that comes to her midriff with shoulder pads, a golden headpiece on her head and a golden opera mask on her face along with black fingerless gloves and red music notes over her skirt, ending with thigh-high black socks, and black dancing shoes. (2100 ATK)

Yuya whistled; he knew that Yuzu that was working hard but he wasn't expecting an Xyz Monster from her so soon!

"Yuzu, you're doing so amazing! Let that fire burn through both of you!" Shuzo yelled, cheering them both on being swept in the excitement of the duel.

"But we're not done yet!" Yuzu continued, extending her hand with a confident grin. "Now I activate Ballata's effect! Once per turn, I can detach one overlay unit from her and get to draw a card. And if the card was a :evel 4 or lower 'Melodious' Monster, I get to Special Summon her.".

Ballata grabbed one of her orbs and kissed it before it popped into golden sparkles as Yuzu drew her card. The smile on her lips was evident that she liked what she drew.

"And for my next show stopper, I will activate the Spell Card Polymerization! So I Fusion Summon Mozarta the Melodious Maestra and Elegy the Melodious Diva together!"

Yuzu brought her hands together as the blue and purple fusion portal opened behind her, with her two monsters appearing together before spinning into it. A brilliant light surrounded with pink and purple flower petals showered the field.

" _Angel's song! Supreme genius! With the guidance of the baton, gather your power! Fusion Summon! Now come here to the stage! Sing the song of victory! Bloom Diva the Melodious Choir!"_

The monster looked beautiful with her fairy like face, purple dress and wings standing over a flower with many petals (1000 ATK)

"It's a combination of an angel and a flower!" Shuzo exclaimed.

"Go Yuzu!" Mana yelled, happily raising her hands in a cheer.

"She's doing amazing," Gongenzaka remarked with a proud smile. "They both are."

"Man when did these two get this good?" Joey asked excitedly. He had no idea that these two were up to anything like updating their deck, and doing it so well.

The audience gasped at the beautiful monster that appeared spreading light and particles of shining sparks as well as pink petals flying around.

Yuzu smiled proudly, "Now Bloom Diva might look weak, but her effect is strong!" she said, raising her arm showcasing her monster. "She can't be destroyed by battle or by a card effect, and any battle she has with a monster Special Summoned from the Extra Deck I don't get the damage, but my opponent does, the damage of the difference between the original attack of the monster! And if that happens, the monster Bloom Diva goes to battle with, gets destroyed!"

Yuya's eyes widened, and he swallowed. What should he do? Yuzu had two monsters on the field, with one of them having a very powerful effect, and the other would be able to attack him directly after Bloom Diva destroyed his Rune-Eyes. Yuya looked around, there must be some card that could help him and get him out of this… he looked around for an action card.

"Go, Bloom Diva! Attack his dragon!" Yuzu commanded.

Bloom Diva smiled benevolently, making Yuya shiver as she flew closer towards Rune-Eyes. She opened her mouth, singing a solid note with a ring of soundwaves ready to shatter the dragon into pieces.

Rune-Eyes roared as Yuya saw an action card up on one of the tiles, the boy looked around before getting an idea and grinning as he ran and got on Rune-Eyes' tail and let his dragon, with the dragon launching him up, Yuya grabbed one of the robes, swinging around catching the Action Card.

"I activate the Action Card, Candy Shower! I can target one of your monsters and switch them to defense position instead and I choose Bloom Diva!" Yuya declared.

"I activate the Trap Card, Melodious Illusion!" Yuzu shouted, activating her set card. "I can target one Melodious Monster on the field, and she doesn't get affected by card effects, and she gets to attack twice this turn! So I also target Bloom Diva!"

"Oh no…" Yuya said as the chain effect happened, making his action card useless. He jumped back down with a flip backward, landing on the ground just as Bloom Diva hit his dragon. Bloom Diva's effect activated and lilac flower petals were sent towards Yuya, letting him lose the life point difference between the two monsters.

**(Yuzu: 4800)... (Yuya:6000)**

Rune-Eyes was soon destroyed, shattering into the light.

"One more attack, Bloom Diva!" Yuzu said and her monster smiled once more, opening her lips and letting her song send soundwaves towards Yuya, making him take a step back from the attack.

**(Yuzu: 4800)... (Yuya:5000)**

"They're neck and neck," Gongenzaka said.

"Way to go big sister Yuzu, keep it up! You too big brother Yuya!" Ayu shouted as the crowd cheered more.

"And I still have one more monster on the field, go Ballata attack Yuya directly!" Yuzu ordered her second monster.

"I activate the Trap Card Performapal Call! If an opponent monster declares an attack I can target it and stop that attack, then I can add two performapals to my hand as long as the total DEF is less than or equal to the ATK of the targeted monster," Yuya explained as the trap card glowed, stopping Ballata in her tracks and making her pout, then started looking threw his deck for the monsters that he wanted.

"So I add to my hand Performapal Pendulum Sorcerer, and Performapal Seal Eel," Yuya said. then showed the two cards that he got from the trap to Yuzu.

"I end my turn," Yuzu said with a nod and Yuya let out a sigh of relief.

"Now unless he can get another dragon in he can't banish any of her monsters, Yuzu's brilliant," Mana said.

"Oh indeed, this is quite the exciting duel we have, I could not tell who would win," Pegasus said with a big grin, duels like this always made him excited and brought such joy to him.

"Yuzu has the stronger monsters though right?" Ayu asked.

"Yeah, but we really don't know what Yuya's deck is capable of anymore, none of us saw what's in it," Joey said.

"But all Yuya can summon are Level 3 or 4 monsters, they can't possibly beat Yuzu's big ones," Tatsuya argued.

"Hey now, my magician girls are technically weak but they can fly circles around the strongest of monsters when used right," Mana reminded the kids. "It's not just about having powerful cards, it's knowing how to balance your deck well, and know how to use these cards to their full effects. And while Yuya is usually focused on making others laugh, I know he could handle monsters as strange and colorful as the Performpals so I wouldn't count him out yet."

Pegasus chuckled. "Indeed Mana, I quite agree, so let's see what Yuya boy's next move would be."

"My turn, I draw!" Yuya said, drawing his card and grinning. "So let's use my Pendulum cards then shall we? Swing, the pendulum of souls! Draw an arc of light across the ether! Pendulum Summon! Appear now Come! My monsters! Level 4 Pendulum Magician!"

The new monster was a man clad all in red with gray pants with purple hair. He wore a red top hat with gray tips and a gray piece in the middle that had a yellow star embedded in it and red gloves, a gray collar with a blue sash that hid his face with gray sleeve ends. On the chest were four blue crystals impeded in golden holders, with a smaller crystal on each side of his chest, along with a giant pendulum in his hand (1500 ATK)

"And Level 4 Performpal Fireflux!"

It was a giant lightning bug, with its behind lighting up, wearing an orange vest with a red collar and a green bow tie, along with a star on his chest and a white undershirt. On each leg, he wore four white gloves. (1200 ATK)

"Two-level 4 monsters? Is Yuya gonna Xyz summon too?" Joey asked.

"Maybe, we have no idea what's up the kid's sleeves," Shuzu said, not sure what Yuya's next move would be.

"And one of these monsters is not the one that he added to his hand, I wonder why," Pegasus pointed out.

"Now Yuzu's monsters are quite powerful, but they're not impossible to beat, though it would take just a little ingenuity," Yuya said. "So first, I start with this; I activate my Pendulum Magician's effect, if he was special summoned, I can destroy up to two cards that are on my field, and add to my hand as many performapals to my hand, so Pendulum Magician will destroy my two Pendulum cards!"

"What?!" Yuzu yells and her eyes widen.

"Ohh, he can do that?" Pegasus asked.

"But...why?" Shuzo asked.

"Wait… can you Pendulum Summon again if you change your cards?" Yuzu asked.

"No, I can't," Yuya said, making Yuzu blink. Then what was the point of destroying them in the first place?

"Now, one more thing, Pendulum Cards have special features about them, you see when they're destroyed, or used as a fusion material while they're on the field, they don't go to the graveyard. Instead, they go face up to the Extra Deck!"

"Haaah?!" The crowd's jaws fell to the ground at the new information, and Pegasus' eyes widened at that. Pendulums were truly a whole new summoning mechanic, it was quite interesting what they could do with something like that.

However, adding the Extra Deck into this summoning method would make him drag Reiji into this scheme as well. He would have to speak with the young CEO later.

Yuya showed the two Pendulum Monsters that he had in his hands to Yuzu. "Now I set another Pendulum Scale. So I place Scale 3 Performapal Seal Eel and Scale 6 Guitartle!"

The two Performpals rose in the air with a number 2 and number 6 under them.

"Next I sacrifice Performpal Pendulum Sorcerer and Summon Performapal Clay Breaker!"

The monster was white and made of clay, wearing a pink hat with a yellow star on it, and wore a set of pink, yellow and red stitched clothes. (2000 ATK)

Yuzu blinked in surprise. She hadn't expected Yuya to _Tribute Summon_ at all when Pendulum Cards were involved, she wondered what the point of that was. As far as she learned Tribute summoning was unnecessary any more.

"Next I activate Seal Eel's effect, I can target one monster on the field and negate its effect, and without Aria around, I can target Bloom Diva!"

Seal Eel grinned, and from his top hat, pink ribbons descended down and wrapped themselves around Bloom Diva. Bloom Diva looked around in confusion and tried to get out of them but couldn't.

"And with Bloom Diva's effects negated, then she can be easily destroyed by either of my monsters."

"Wow!"

"But that's not all, you see, Clay Breaker has his own effects, once per turn, during damage calculations for every face-up pendulum monster in my Extra Deck, the monster loses 500 ATK points." Yuzu's eyes widened at that.

"Oh so that's how he knew about the face-up Extra Deck thing," Mana said. "He really must have studied his cards well."

"Yeah! Go Yuya!" Joey cheered.

"You can beat him Yuzu!" a child cheered

"This is such an amazing duel!"

"Go Clay Breaker attack Bellata!" Yuya ordered. The monster grinned as his giant hands came together and rose up in the air growing larger before bringing them down on Yuzu's monster.

Yuzu started to run to get a card to help her.

"It won't work!" Yuya said. "Fireflux's effect doesn't let you activate a Spell or a Trap card while one of my performapal monsters is attacking!

"What?! But that means..."

"No Action Cards for you, Yuzu!" Yuya said with a wink just as Clay Breaker destroyed her first Melodious Monster.

**(Yuzu: 3400) ... (Yuya:5000)**

"Fireflux, your turn! Attack Bloom Diva!" Yuya yelled, and the grasshopper looking monsters jumped in the air landing on Bloom Diva's face, making her scream before getting destroyed and shattering into light.

**(Yuzu: 3200) ... (Yuya:5000)**

"Oh that's gotta hurt," Mana winced.

"That monster was near invulnerable too!" said Shuzo.

"So were Yuzu's other two Melodious Monsters," Joey said.

"Yes it seems Yuya-boy is quite the creative spirit," Pegasus commented with a big grin, this has been a great duel so far, with the Melodious Monsters having several protections and yet Yuya finding weak points and new angles to exploit yet still keeping the audience at the edge of their seats. Who would have thought of using such strategies, especially with such a colorful deck like his? And the adorable animals made everything even better!

"... You've gotta be kidding me…" Yuzu whispered with wide eyes. She could actually hear Ray laughing in amusement at the duel.

" _Oh, he's adorable."_

"These cards are really strong,"

" _Zarc really knew what he was doing giving these cards to this one. Bravo, my love. Though he has to find another alternative to Odd-Eyes if he is the main fusion component in that deck."_

"Well, there are Fusion Substitute monsters…"

" _Name one that lets you be a substitute for Dragon Fusions, especially one that substitutes the Specified Fusion Material."_

"Uh...Dragon's Mirror?" Yuzu asked, remember that Joey once used it for his deck.

" _That's not a substitution honey, that's a Fusion Card, and it banishes the materials."_

"There were Fusion Substitute monsters like Goddess with the Third Eye."

" _And how far is that gonna throw the balance of a deck?"_

Yuzu groaned. "Do I look like I'm a walking encyclopedia of Duel Monsters?!"

Ray chuckled. _Don't take it seriously. Even I don't know everything there is to know about dueling. These are all things people should take into account Yuzu; one card out of place and the whole deck goes in shambles. Besides, I'd let Zarc deal with it, he made these ruling for these decks, and if Odd-Eyes was apparently on the field when Fused then he goes back to the extra deck, meaning… it can probably be summoned again, and not have to be in the graveyard..."_ It dawned on Ray what that meant exactly. " _That… brilliant bastard!"_

" _W...what?"_ Yuzu asked blinking in confusion

Ray laughed. " _Oh I'll tell you girls, later,"_ she said and Yuzu could feel the grin on Ray's face.

Yuzu looked at the field, knowing that she had to find something to defend herself. There had to be a way to beat these monsters. She knew her monsters were stubborn and were hardly ever vulnerable to anything, so there must be a way to work around Yuya's cards. Her hand was empty, and there wasn't much that she could do that wouldn't cost her more life points. She had to figure something out. And fast.

Ray stayed quiet for a bit. It seemed to her Yuzu still operated on trying to not lose a single life point when sacrificing some of them would at times be a necessary evil. But she didn't need to say anything yet and just let the duel continue to see what would happen.

"My turn, I draw!" Yuzu said and let out a breath of relief. "I activate the spell card, Card of Sanctity, which allows us both to draw until we have six cards in our hands," the pink-haired girl declared placing the card in the Duel Desk slot to activate its effect. Coins rained from the sky as Yuya and Yuzu quickly refilled their hands.

Yuzu saw that one of the cards in her hands was Mystical Space Typhoon, which lets her destroy one spell or trap card on the field. She wished that that card could help her but…Yuzu paused, remembering something that the other girls have said… and smiled.

"I activate the spell card, Mystical Space typhoon!" Yuzu shouted, placing the card in the spell and trap slot.

"Hah?!" Joey yelled.

"What?" Mana questioned blinking a few times.

"What would that even do?! Yuya doesn't have any set cards!" Shuzo said.

Yuya's eyes widened, understanding what Yuzu was about to do.

"When your pendulum Monsters are set on the pendulum scale they're not treated like monsters, correct? They can't be destroyed by being attacked… they're treated like Continuous Spell Cards!"

"They… they do?" asked Shuzo.

Yuya grinned. "Correct," he said.

Yuzu huffed a smile "So I'm gonna destroy your Seal Eel!" she declared, placing the spell card in the slot, and a great wind wailed hitting Yuya's field and destroying Seal Eel in its wake.

"Aww," some children pouted, sad to see the cute Seal Eel get destroyed.

"Now that Seal can't negate the effects of my monsters, I can begin! Since I don't have any monsters on my side of the field and you do, I can special Summon Solo the Melodious Songstress!" She said summoning her monster

Another copy of the pretty ballerina danced into the field with a smile. (1600 ATK)

And since I have a Melodious Monster on the field I can special Summon Canon the melodious Diva!"

And from the light, a second Melodious rose up with a sweet smile as the audience' applause welcomed her. She had spiky blue hair and wore a purple blouse with puffed sleeves along with a purple and black diamond skirt. (1400 ATK)

"And now I normal Summon Serenade the Melodious Diva."

The last Melodious Diva wore a brilliant yellow and orange dress and she had lavender hair and magenta hair with a matching magenta wing on her back. (400 ATK)

"Daww, so pretty," some of the girl students kept cooing at Yuzu's monsters.

"Three Level 4 monsters, huh…" Mana thought. "Wait a

"Big sister Yuzu must be summoning a new Xyz monster!" Ayu cheered.

"That's correct!" Yuzu yelled, with a wink "Now once more I open the Overlay network!" she declared.

"Do you think it's a new monster?" One of the students questioned.

"Could be~" Mana said, vibrating with excitement.

"With that Performapal Monster around it's hard to go to battle against so she needs something that can destroy him by effect," Joey said.

"Don't monsters only activate their effects on the user's turn?" asked Futoshi.

"Yes, usually but there are always exceptions, such as Quick Effects that work on both opponent's turns and during the Battle Phase," Mana explained.

"Then there are cards that say 'Each time this monster battles' or 'Battles involving this monster' activate the effect during either opponent's Battle Phase," Joey brought up. "Knowing what the effects do and when are key to defeating your opponent."

"A symphony of sounds melds together, as the notes of the song become higher, oh beautiful choir of music, rise and fill the stage with your song! Xyz Summon! Rank 4 Bloom Donna the Melodious Choir!"

The Melodious Monster had magenta eyes and dark lilac locks with black roses placed in her hair like a crown, and descending down her back. She wore a long flowing dress with a deep purple bodice with two pieces of fabrics holding the dress up and tied behind her neck, and a flowy colorful skirt with its colors becoming lighter as it descends down, with music notes on it (2800 ATK)

"Holy - !" Yuya exclaimed with wide eyes.

"An Xyz summon requiring three materials; this one must be strong," Mana exclaimed.

"Haaa she's sooooooo pretty!" Ayu yelled, smiling, with a lot of children gasping at the new Xyz monster Yuzu just summoned. Bloom Donna smiled at the children and waved back.

"Next I Equip Bloom Donna with the Spell Card called Xyz Unit, now my monster gets an extra 200 ATK points for every Rank it has. And since it has four, then that's an extra 800 life points!"

Bloom Dona smiled as another Overlay unit joined the three that she already had and her (2800 -) 3600 ATK)

"Wow that's a lot!" Fotoshi said.

"I activate Bloom Donna's effect! Once per turn, I can choose one of two effects: either remove one overlay unit and change a monster's battle position, which is a Quick Effect, or I can remove two Overlay Units from her and target one card on the field and destroy it." Yuzu explained.

"Oh… that's not good," Yuya muttered. No matter what effect she chose, he'd suffer.

"Wow, she really is strong!" One of the children exclaimed.

"Big sister Yuzu might win this one!" Ayu exclaimed.

Yuzu grinned. "I remove two overlay units and I destroy Performapal Clay Breaker!" she exclaimed.

"Oh no...no no…" What could Yuya even do against monster effects?

Yuzu's monster grabbed two of her overlay units and released them both exploding, into golden sparks around her before Bloom Donna let out a Melodious sound as if an angelic choir lifted their voices to the heavens and a sound wave hit Clay Breaker destroying him.

"And don't forget, Bloom Donna hasn't attacked yet! Go Bloom Donna attack Performpal Fireflux!"

The Melodious Monster opened her lips singing her song and sending Fireflux flying backward before being destroyed.

**(Yuzu: 3200)... (Yuya:2700)**

"I place one card face down and end my turn," Yuzu said, heart hammering in her chest, she wasn't sure if what she was feeling was excitement or fear, even if her opponent was Yuya. She would admit to herself, she had really thought that dueling Yuya would have been easy, that she could win over him without trouble, she had dueled against Ruri, Rin, and Serena time and again, and had tried to hone her skills as best as she could with all her new cards, while Yuya in her mind had always been a goofball. A sweet fun-loving goofball, but a goofball nonetheless. Even when he had fought Strong Ishijima, he had started with small silly acts.

But Yuya was a good duelist and quite dangerous once he put his mind to it, this duel proved it, he only had one night to get to know his cards and yet he played them perfectly. But if she wasn't ready to fight _Yuya_ of all people, was she even ready for the Obelisk Force to come?

"Yuzu seems really distracted," Mana pointed out.

"What do you think is wrong?" Shuzo asked. "She's in the lead."

"Yeah but she just gave Yuya even more cards. Card of Sanctity is good for a new hand but it could give your opponent the same advantage, it's why duelists don't use it as much as Pot of Greed or its variance." Mana explained.

"She could be off because of how well Yuya is dueling," Gongenzaka said. "I believe that this is one of the few times that Yuya is fighting seriously, and she is not used to that at all, especially when he fights her."

"But Yuya fighting seriously is a good thing," Joey said.

"Indeed, something else seems to be on her mind," Gongenzaka added. Yuzu had been acting strangely lately as if she was talking to herself at strange times, and it worried the Superheavy Samurai duelist, he truly wished that his friend was alright, but he couldn't do anything without her telling them what was wrong.

"My turn, I draw!" Yuya said, drawing his card. Upon seeing it, he couldn't help but smile, "Ladies and Gentlemen! We hope that you all have enjoyed this magnificent duel of ours but now it will have to come to an end, so I present to you the great big finally!"

The audience gasped and cheered.

"You're being far too confident Yuya, you shouldn't call a finally so soon!" Yuzu said, panting slightly. She could see that she and Yuya have been giving it their all, and all this excitement from the duel and cheers from the audience were making their adrenaline rush even faster.

"Yeah, but I know, this is where I beat you Yuzu," Yuya said with a wink.

"Ohh, Yuya boy is highly confident in himself, but so far he did not disappoint, let us see this finally then shall we?"

"I place Performapal Ballad on the Pendulum scale!"

"Now everyone, there is a reason Pendulum Monsters are sent to the Extra Deck and not the graveyard, you see if my pendulum Monsters from my hand _or_ the Extra Deck are between the two scales, then I get to summon them to the field right back!"

"Haa?!" Yuzu yelled and everyone's jaw fell to the ground at the new revelations. "So the monsters that were destroyed and tributed that went to the Extra Deck…"

"Can come right back!" Yuya exclaimed, spreading his hands. "Swing, pendulum of souls! Draw an arc of light across the ether! Pendulum Summon! Appear now Come! My monsters! Level 4 Pendulum Magician"

From the few bolts of lightning, the magician appeared back on the field tipping his hat to Yuzu and the audience. (1500 ATK)

"Level 4 Fireflux." The Performpal appeared once more with a determined look on his face. (1200 ATK)

"Level 3 Seal Eel" The cute Seal Eel barked wiggling around happily as he came to the field as well.(100 ATK)

"Level 5 Drummerilla!" Drummerilla roared and drummed on its chest as it emerged to have some fun.(1600 ATK)

"That's amazing but they still couldn't hold a candle to Yuzu's monster," Shuzo said.

"I think by now we should learn to not underestimate Yuya," Mana said, grinning. She couldn't wait to see what Yuya was about to do...and possibly duel against them. Oh, the possibilities were endless!

"Now since I special Summoned two or more monsters at the same time I get to take Clay breaker from the graveyard to my hand!" Yuya said, taking the card from his graveyard and showing it to Yuzu.

"Damn it no…"

"Now I use Pendulum Magician's effect to destroy my two Pendulum Monsters up on the Pendulum Scale!"

The magician raised his hands up and the Pendulum in his hands began to glow before the two monsters that were on the pendulum scale were shattered and went to the extra deck.

"Now that that's done, I sacrifice my Pendulum Magician once more to Normal Summon Performapal Clay breaker!"

The magician was gone in sparkling lights as the familiar monster returned to the field to the cheers of the crowd… and Pegasus' applause. (2000 ATK)

" _It's okay Yuzu you still have a way out,"_ Yuzu thought to herself thinking of her monster's other effect.

"And I'm not done yet," Yuya said, bringing Yuzu's attention back to him. "Considering your monsters have such good protection, I can't afford to make mistakes so I play the spell card Pendulum Transfer!" Yuya said activating the spell card with a small pendulum on it and in the yellow and purple background was the back of two cards.

"This card allows me to target up to two Pendulum monsters on my field and place them in the Pendulum Zone! But I think I only need one so I place Seal Eel back on the Pendulum scale!" The seal barked happily as it began to rise up in the air and take his place back at the newly empty Pendulum Scale.

"So I activate Seal Eel's effect and target your Melodious Monster!" Yuya exclaimed and with a bark the Perfrompal sent pink ribbons tying up Bloom Donna and not letting her move or escape.

"Now Clay Breaker attacks Bloom Donna!" The red-eyed boy commanded. Clay Breaker's hands tangled together and grew giant size as they swept down to attack Yuzu's monster. "And since there are 4 Pendulum monsters face-up in my Extra Deck, your Monster loses 2000 ATK points! While mine 600 thanks to my Drummirilla!"

Bloom Donna glowed pink getting weaker (3600-)1500)

Clay breaker glowed white as his attack points grew larger(2000-)2600

"And thanks to Fireflux no spell or trap cards can be activated while my Performpals attack!"

Bloom Donna was destroyed into shards of light!

**(Yuzu: 2100)... (Yuya:2700)**

"Now Drumerilla and Fireflux attack you directly!"

The two Perfompal Monsters ran towards Yuzu, with Firelflux jumping on Yuzu's shoulder, then Drummirilla grabbed Yuzu and held her up before throwing her into the air before Yuya jumped into the middle of the arena catching Yuzu in his arms.

**(Yuzu: 0)... (Yuya:2700)**

"I win," Yuya said with a brilliant smile.

"You won...You won!" Yuzu exclaimed before kissing Yuya on the cheek.

"HOW LOVELY!" Mana squealed as more fireworks lit up the sky. Joey was too engrossed with the ending to even stop her.

"We...I…" Shuzo was both confused at the fireworks and his reaction to the two kids kissing in the arena.

Yuya and Yuzu smiled at each other as Yuya placed Yuzu down, and the two of them held hands and bowed to the audience as they applauded the two of them.

Pegasus stood up clapping as well with a huge smile on his face. "Pravo! Pravo both of you! That was quite the duel indeed!" He said as the Action Field disappeared.

"You really liked it?" Yuya asked.

"Oh indeed, the Pendulum Cards and the Performapal monsters have far exceeded my expectations, my boy, truly you have impressed me greatly!"

"So the offer is still on?" Shozu asked.

"Well, yes it is, although there would be a few slight tweaks I'm afraid."

"Tweaks?" Yuya asked.

"Indeed, since new information about these Pendulum Cards have come to light, after all, I had no idea that they use the Extra Deck."

"Is that gonna be a problem?" Yuzu asked.

"Not at all, but I think that I would have to bring in Reiji-boy to the deal as well since his company handles the Extra Deck Monsters, and technically, your monsters are both."

"Reiji Akaba, huh? Do you think that he'd be willing to agree to such offers?" Shuzo asked, worried for Yuya.

"Reiji is a smart boy, I'm sure he'll agree to work something out… when Yuya-boy agrees to my offer."

"I… I think I will," Yuya said.

"Really?!" Pegasus said enthusiastically like a kid about to go to a candy store.

"Are you sure Yuya?" Yuzu asked. "These are your cards after all. You created them."

"In a way…" Yuya said, after all, he had no idea what kind of magic that he possessed that made these cards. "But if only _I_ had these cards, then it wouldn't be fair to anyone. These cards can bring joy to people, show how amazing Dueltaining can be, give more people the chance to win, and have fun with creative new strategies. And besides… it would really help me and mom out. I don't need to be _the creator_ of Pendulums, and this might save me a lot of headaches and expectations."

"I guess that's true…" Yuzu conceded.

"Wonderful!" Pegasus cheered. "I will be talking with Reiji-boy soon then and we will call you and your mother to forge a contract."

"Way to go, Yuya!" Joey said before Mana jumped down, gathering both Yuya and Yuzu in a bone-crushing hug.

"You both were amazing!" Mana exclaimed. "Especially for using such new cards for the first time and putting on such an amazing show."

"Indeed, I the man, Gongenzaka was quite surprised that the two of you have improved so well. And I believe that I should do the same as well."

"Really?" Yuzu asked. She and Yuya both had big grins on their faces.

Gongenzaka nodded. "Indeed, I shall walk in your footsteps and I will not be left behind, I shall attempt to learn Synchro Summoning."

"Why Synchro?"

"You both have learned Fusion and Yuzu knows Xyz. Synchro will balance it out. Not to mention that with how I follow the Superheavy Strong Style of dueling, my deck must be empty of Spell and Trap Cards. Since Synchro Summoning only needs monsters, then it fits my deck quite well."

Yuya turned back to Pegasus "Thanks for everything Mr. Pegasus," Yuya said, shaking the man's hand. "It was quite an honor to have you here."

"Oh, the honor was all mine Yuya boy. And I haven't had such fun watching a duel in so long, it really does warm my heart, these Performapals of yours have such a place in my heart, they are so much like old cartoons, they wish to bring smiles to everyone's faces."

"Yes, they do!" Yuya said with a huge grin, he was practically beaming.

Pegasus nodded. "Take care Yuya boy, Miss Yuzu as well, you were simply magnificent as well."

Yuzu smiled, blushing at the compliment. "Th-thank you sir!" she said with a bow.

"Now I shall leave you all to your devices. Good luck everyone! I wish you all a good day."

"Goodbye Mister Pegasus!" the children said waving at the silver-haired man, and Pegasus smiled and waved right back.

"Bye uncle, see ya later!" Mana said, waving energetically.

Pegasus laughed, with Croquet just rolling his eyes behind his shades. "See you soon, my dear."

…

…

…

"Yuzu, you doing okay?" Yuya asked as the two of them along with Gongenzaka walked together, they had decided to get some ice cream, they thought that the two had earned it after such a big duel. Yuzu however seemed a little bit distracted.

"Oh I'm...I'm fine, Yuya. I just wasn't expecting you to go all out like that. It's like the first time that you actually dueled me seriously for years."

"I had to; this was something big and I had to impress Pegasus."

"That's true," Yuzu said with a small smile.

"You were amazing too, Yuzu; you didn't go easy on me at all. You were Xyz summoning and Fusion Summoning perfectly!"

Yuzu smiled at the compliment. "Thanks. I'm proud of you, you know."

"Huh?" Yuya asked looking back at Yuzu.

"For dueling like that, for winning against me. I'm proud of you, you were really amazing Yuya. When you put your focus on something, you shine! Shine brighter than any star I've seen. And I know you can do more, much much more."

Yuya blushed looking away and scratching his cheek in embarrassment. "Well, you're right about that. There has to be more ways to advance Pendulum Summoning. Fusion Summoning was just the start, but I think I should learn Xyz Summoning too!"

"Really?!" Gongenzaka and Yuzu asked. Gongenzaka in confusion and Yuzu with absolute delight.

"Yeah. If you're allowed to Special Summon monsters between a certain level on the Pendulum Scale, then what's stopping you from bringing out monsters with the same level? I did it, and I'm pretty sure some of the kids thought that I would Xyz Summon at that moment. I just have to find the right cards."

"That's great, Yuya!" Yuzu said, giving Yuya a big hug and kissing his cheek, making the boy blush and grin brightly.

"I truly do need to catch up then. The two of you are sprinting so far ahead, I, the man, Gongenzaka. do not wish to be left in the dust," Gongenzaka said, smiling at his two friends.

"It's okay Gongenzaka, you won't. Besides I'm going to have to find my own balance in these cards since they have their own scales and effects. I need to be thinking of which effects I'll need as well as which scales I can use," Yuya explained. "It might take a while for me to perfect Xyz and Pendulum Summoning together."

"You also need either a Spellcaster or Dragon Xyz monster, those seem to be the best themes suited to your deck and Pendulum effects," Yuzu said.

"Spellcasters and Dragons huh? Yeah, something that could work well with my Pendulums.

"It is kinda strange that Odd-Eyes, Timegazer Magician, and Stargazer Magician stick out in comparison to your Performapals," Gongenzaka observed.

"How so?" Yuya asked.

"One, none of them have 'Performapal' in their name. And two, none of them look like they're part of a circus."

"Yeah, you do have a point, though the Magicians do belong in the circus…" Yuzu thought.

Yuya shrugged. "I've had Odd-Eyes since I was a kid, I don't really remember where I got him from. And sometimes, I can sense him. Sense him guiding me to victory."

"A bond with your cards," Yuzu said.

"Yeah I know it sounds weird, but I know it's true," Yuya insisted.

"I do believe you, Yuya. I have seen the way Odd-Eyes acts in Action Duels, he seems to have a will of his own, and is very protective of you."

"Mhm," Yuzu said nodding. "Whatever magic that transformed your cards Yuya, I know that they're looking out for you, so that's why you have to be your best self and try to keep improving and perfecting your strategies."

"Yeah, you're right," Yuya agreed with a nod. "And I promise you both, I will.I just hope my mom takes the news all right."

…

…

…

"Are… are you SERIOUS?!" Yoko Sakaki screamed.

"Yeah mom, President Pegasus came to You Show himself and made the offer. He said that he was gonna call after he has a talk with Reiji Akaba so that they can start making new Pendulums."

"This is… oh this is a lot," Yoko said, sitting down. "I mean, it was one thing that _you_ of all people decided to duel Strong Ishijima, but then you somehow got a new summoning method from out of _nowhere_ and now the freaking guy whose job is to make Duel Monster cards for a living wants to work with you!"

"I know it's a lot, mom, but this could really help us, don't you think?" Yuya said as one of his mother's adopted kittens jumped on his lap and he started to pet them absentmindedly. "I don't want the fame of being the only duelist with a brand new summoning method, and President Pegasus raised a good point. I could be accused of cheating, and this could get that stigma off my back and give us enough money so that you don't have to work as hard! And I can focus on honing my Dueltaining." Yuya explained.

Yoko sighed before looking down at her feet to see En with a ball in its mouth. She smiled softly at the dog, took the ball into her hands, and gently tossed it down the hallway. The corgi barked and chased after it.

"I might have to hire a lawyer then," Yoko said. "Mister Pegasus is a nice man to the public, but I'm not sure if I can handle reading a contract that would be as intricate as what these high-grade businessmen get."

Yuya looked down. Then he heard his mother laugh.

"But yeah… you're right, this might be our best option," Yoko said with a small smile, before ruffling Yuya's hair. "Look at you kiddo, you're growing up, Shuzo told me that you and Yuzu dueled today and that you put on an amazing show. I'm so proud of you. And I know your dad would be proud of you too."

Yuya smiled. "Thanks, mom," he said, giving his mother a big hug.

_So am I. I'm very proud of what you accomplished._

Yuya froze at the voice, eyes wide.

"Something wrong?" Yoko asked, noticing that Yuya looked unsure.

"Oh n… nothing," the red-eyed boy said shaking his head. "I just thought I was hearing things…"

"Alright, you seem really tired kiddo, I'll make something light for dinner then you can go get some rest yeah?"

"Sure…" Yuya said with a small smile. "When's Joey coming home anyway?"

"In half an hour," Yoko answered and went to the kitchen to start making dinner. Yuya got up and began getting some food for the pets, taking the pet food and choosing which bowls to pour it in, letting the small pets eat.

A part of Yuya wondered if adopting the pets was his mother's way of coping with his dad's disappearance. En and Core had been around since he was small, but it was during the first year that Yusho was gone when Kilo and Watt were added (the two kittens Yoko adopted months ago went unnamed). Things so far... seemed to be looking up for them, Yuya thought with a smile.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

A day after Yuya had voiced his agreement to Pegasus' offer the silver-haired man had called Reiji Akaba to make an appointment and speak about the Pendulum Monsters. Yuya's show had been far more informing than even Pegasus had hoped, and the use of the Extra Deck as well as Monster Cards as Spell Cards made for some interesting ideas and potentials. It was just a matter of convincing Reiji to a beneficial deal between all three of them.

Pegasus and his bodyguard were escorted to Reiji's office, where the silver-haired boy was sitting behind his desk before standing up as Pegasus walked closer.

The two of them shook hands with polite smiles on their lips.

"Mr. Pegasus, welcome," Reiji greeted the older man before offering him a seat and sitting back down himself.

"Reiji boy, how nice to see you again, I see your schools and flourished. And so has the Extra Deck sellings. "

"Yes indeed, many people are realizing how much Extra Deck Monsters are worth and are driven to experimenting, and joining schools."

"Yes, I've noticed. The tournaments have become such entertaining events. The monsters you create are indeed powerful."

"I'm glad that you approve. Now Mr. Pegasus, what is this deal we're talking about."

"Oh, I'm quite glad that you've asked. You see, I have recently thought of a brand new method of summoning, and I am here to… renegotiate the terms of our deal. I believe that you have seen these cards in action correct? As Yuya boy defeated Strong Ishijima with such a flare and show. Industrial Illusions have created these cards you see, and Yuya was tasked to test them and show them to the world in that duel, and I say that he had done a magnificent job showcasing them hasn't he?"

Reiji had a strained polite smile on his lips before taking a deep breath through his nose and releasing it. "Do you take me for a fool, Mr. Pegasus?"

"I'm...sorry?" Pegasus asked, not quite sure how to feel about Reiji's response.

"Mr. Pegasus, you didn't create these Pendulum Cards," Reiji said.

"Oh? Are you calling me a liar, Reiji boy?"

"Indeed I am," Reiji answered. "Aside from the fact that you would have contacted me sooner for such a new invention, the very fact that the boy chosen to test them was Yuya Sakaki is very suspect as knowing you, you would have had your niece Mana or nephew Atem test them."

Pegasus was silent for a moment. Reiji was smart and for some reason, he reminded the older man of someone else with that type of logic and cold stare.

"And even if Mana and Atem wouldn't have been your usual choice, Yuya didn't have these cards before halfway through the duel with Ishijimac," Reiji added.. So, no Mr. Pegasus I don't believe that you're the one who created them,"

"If I didn't then who did?" Pegasus asked.

"I believe Yuya did, somehow, in some way, perhaps not so conventional means he created those cards in that duel itself, and thanks to their nature, they were not considered counterfeit or illegal, and a new Summoning method was born. Therefore, you are trying to either take the credit or spare the Yuya any future trouble, as well as benefiting from this new method. Do stop me if I'm wrong, of course."

Pegasus chuckled, "And knowing these facts Reiji-boy, what do you intend to do? Reject the Pendulum Cards and announce Yuya boy as a cheater?"

"Mr. Pegasus, even if I was not a businessman, I would never have simply ignored the Pendulum Cards. Quite the contrary I see the potential that they could serve," Reiji answered, looking at Pegasus with a neutral expression. "I am willing to keep the lie going, and have it be our secret, as long as I get a hand in creating the archetypes."

Pegasus smiled "I can agree to that, and we may discuss further details later. But I do need to inform you of a few details."

"Oh?" Reiji questioned.

"Indeed, you see two days ago I was treated to a truly spectacular duel between Yuya-boy and his lovely girlfriend, Yuzu. The young girl used a mix of Fusion and Xyz summoning while Yuya-boy used Pendulum cards and Fusion."

"Really? The two upgraded their decks? That is good to hear. The two of them have always had such potential hidden beneath Yusho's philosophy to duel for furn."

"Indeed, and we have discovered a few things during that duel," Pegasus said holding a finger up. "First, the Pendulum Cards work as both Monster Cards and Spell Cards. When placed on the Pendulum Scale they become the equivalent of continuous Spell Cards, and aside from summoning Monsters once per turn, they each have their own individual effects."

"Interesting," Reiji took in the information, happy to know what other secrets these cards hold.

"Yes. Second, when Pendulum Cards are destroyed, they are not sent to the graveyard, they are instead placed Face Up on the Extra Deck," That made Reiji's eyebrows rise up. "Which of course that technically makes them-"

"Extra Deck Monsters," Reiji surmised with an amused grin. "So that's the reason that you came to renegotiate one of our contracts."

"Correct," Pegasus answered with a smile. "Oh, and third, the monsters placed on the Extra Deck, can be summoned right back using Pendulum Summon, as long as their levels are between the two scales on each card."

"How unique," Reiji said.

"I know. So many things could be done with cards like that, so many decks could be ungraded, made anew."

"Made stronger and craftier," Reiji finished.

"Oh yes… But do tell me Reiji boy," Pegasus began, and Reiji's attention was back on the older man. "If you had easily been able to tell that the Pendulum Cards were not my idea, then what was your guess?"

"...Magic," Reiji answered without hesitation.

"Ma- _really?"_ Pegasus asked, bewildered. He was not expecting that answer from the younger man. After all, not a lot of people believe in magic to jump into that conclusion readily. In fact, they'd be adamant that there is some trick to the entire thing.

"Well I don't exactly have all the details myself of course," Reiji supplied. "But technology is out of the question, Yuya has no money, and has no actual way to counterfeit cards. And even if had any, Yuya does not have the technical know-how to hack a Duel Desk, and _even if_ he did so, and somehow no one knew, the Duel Desk Security system at Leo Corp would have detected it and deactivated his Duel Desk. Simple as that," the silver haired boy explained his thought process. "Now with all these options debunked and with Yuya gaining these cards mid duel with absolutely no trouble in using them, the only explanation I have is magic, either Yuya has some, or a certain force is looking out for him."

Pegasus smirked. "Perhaps I should give you more credit, Reiji boy. I did not expect you to come to that conclusion easily. Most people would find the very idea… ridiculous."

"I'm a very open-minded person Mr. Pegasus," Reiji replied. "I do not deny what's right in front of me, and I happen to think that what some people would find ridiculous is completely plausible. After all, your own research into Duel Monsters have shown that their origins are magical."

"You have read my research Reiji-boy?" Pegasus wondered with a hint of joy.

"I have. I don't let an opportunity slip by to get stronger, and understanding the origin of things gives us certain knowledge."

"And knowledge is power."

"Pardon the cliché, but yes," Reji replied with a smirk.

"I see. Then tell me Reiji boy, why the search for such power?"

Reiji regarded Pegasus with a look.

"You are already the CEO of one of the largest corporations in the world after all. You are already powerful. And you certainly don't strike me as someone too ambitious. Yet you seem to seek power and more opportunities to become stronger."

Reiji seemed to think about it for a while before looking at Pegasus."You're a very open-minded person, isn't that right Mr. Pegasus?"

"Yes, I'd like to believe so."

"And as this conversation has revealed we both believe in magic, and perhaps… unconventional answers."

"Indeed," Pegasus answered slowly.

"What if I told you that we… aren't the only people around. If I said that there are… other dimensions. And that I've been in a few of them."

"...why would you be telling me this?" Pegasus questioned.

"You're a good man Mr. Pegasus. I know for a fact that you would not use this for your own gain," Reiji took a deep breath and let out a sigh. "I've known for a while that a war is coming. An invasion from a different dimension, a dimension named Fusion."

"Fusion?" Pegasus asked, tilting his head.

"Yes. You see, several years ago after my father disappeared I found some of his research. There used to be a world that split into four other dimensions, each of these dimensions is labeled for the Summoning Method it uses. Ours which is Standard, Fusion, Synchro, and Xyz."

"Why would your father know about any of this?"

"I'm not sure, his notes were vague, only referring to the splitting of the dimension as "The Event." Six years ago he traveled into the Fusion Dimension and has somehow taken over it. He plans to invade the other dimensions one by one, and destroy them."

"But… why?" Pegasus asked horrified at the revelations.

Reiji shook his head. "I don't know, maybe madness, or maybe there is a hidden reason that we don't know about. Whatever his motivations are, we can not afford to turn a blind eye to this, especially since he will probably invade this dimension soon. This is why I keep searching for power Mr. Pegasus, this is what I'm secretly preparing my students for. A war is coming, and we can't stop it alone."

"Reiji boy, I don't understand if your Father truly is out to invade the other dimensions then why not invade here first? Aren't we the weakest dimension before you brought the other Summoning Methods?"

"Perhaps," Reiji replied. "However...I don't know."

"Then maybe there is another reason other than simple control and invasion."

"Yes, that is a possibility," Reiji said remembering the photos of the two people on his Father's computer. "Despite the motivation, it does not change what he is doing."

"I agree. Does anyone else know about any of this?"

"Currently only my mother and my little sister Reira. People might not easily believe my story, especially considering my father was very respected here. But I do plan to handpick the best students from all the schools in Standard to help me."

"Do you have a plan, Reiji boy?"

Reiji nodded. "I plan to take a handful of students with me to the Synchro dimension, once the technology has been perfected. That way, with all three dimensions banding together there could be a greater chance to win. With duelists staying to protect standard or alert me to an invasion, and another to give the Xyz dimension help."

"And I'm guessing the tournament that we're gonna be hosting will be the way that you pick these students," Pegasus surmised.

"Yes, that is true."

Pegasus nodded. "Very well then. I'll look forward to us working together on this Reiji boy," Pegasus said, extending his hand.

Reiji smiled. "As am I," he answered, taking Pegasus' hand and shaking it, happy that things were truly looking up, and Reiji knew that they had a chance to win for sure, and he truly couldn't have been more grateful.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Once the announcement about Pendulum Cards had been spread through all news stations and online, a lot of people rejoiced, it was the talk of the city. They all saw what Yuya could do with these cards and they wanted to try them out. Some people wondered who would start teaching the use of these cards to others and couldn't wait to buy them. The forums were analyzing Yuya's use of the cards and wondering what type of archetypes would heavily benefit from these types of monsters, or how they could be used as compo pieces, even though no archetypes were announced yet.

Yuya had spent three days at Pegasus' laboratories as he dueled several times letting the president of industrial illusions - and secretly Reiji- to study these cards and how they worked. The silver-haired man had praised Yuya and thanked him for all the help before sending him on his way.

"So when are you gonna talk to Yuya boy then?" Pegasus asked Reiji who was reviewing the footage of the duels.

"Soon enough. Yuya is a powerful duelist using these cards, it would be great to get his help in this. After the exhibition matches, I hope that I'm able to tell him and Yuzu."

Pegasus nodded at Reiji's plans and went back to his own work. They had so much to do and so little time to get it done, he could only hope that it would be enough.

…

…

…

The next day Yuya was heading down to Yu-show, it was the weekend, and has spent the last few days helping in studying the Pendulum Cards each day after school, he hasn't had the time to go to Yusho at all. He agreed to meet Yuzu there, he technically would see her in school, but they hadn't really hung out for days and that was something that Yuya wasn't very happy about.

The two of them were… dating now, he probably should take Yuzu on a prober date soon. Yuya was broken out of his thoughts by a familiar voice.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? Yuya Sakaki"

Yuya turned around to look at the owner of that voice "Gen Ankouji," he snarled, recalling the bully from three years ago mocking him about how Yuya wanted to fight Strong Ishijima. He knew from Gongenzaka that Gen was once a prominent student of the Superheavy dueling style, but then he left because he thought himself too proud and arrogant to fight under that style. Last Yuya heard Gen was a devoted follower of Strong.

Now the older boy towered over Yuya along with three other lackeys of his own who seemed ready to start harassing Yuya again.

"What do you want?" Yuya asked, taking a step back, but noticing that he was surrounded by the four of them.

"See Yuya, we here don't like the fact that a wimp like you actually managed to beat the champion," Gen grinned. "So now, we're gonna teach you a lesson not to step up to your betters!"

"You're just mad at me because I actually was able to defeat him," Yuya growled.

"You mean you cheated," Gen said.

"Yeah, no way scrawny wimp like you could step up to Strong," one of Gen's lackeys spoke up.

"I didn't cheat! I-"

"Enough talk, you're done for now!" Gen said, raising his fist up and aiming it at Yuya's face.

Before Yuya could move out of the way or be hit, something small and too fast to see hit Gen's cheek, making him off balance.

"What the…" Yuya watched in confusion as a candy cane fell to the ground a few feet away.

The next moment there was a whirlwind of kicks and punches as Yuya watched four more bodies drop to the ground and two more people stand up. One of them had cyan colored hair put in a small ponytail while the other had a hood on obscuring their face.

"Honestly," the person in the hood, a girl said. "It takes four of you to try and take on one boy, How pathetic are you?"

"Why you!" Gen said before the mysterious girl did a spin kick, hitting his arm and making him yell in pain.

"Scram," the cyan haired boy told them, making the four of them shuffle to stand up and run away.

"This ain't over, coward!" Gen screamed as they retreated to lick their wounds.

"You okay?" the girl asked as the two of them turned around to look at Yuya.

"Oh yeah th-" Yuya froze as he looked at the girl's face under the hood "Y...Yuzu?!" he yelled. The cyan haired boy blinked at the outburst.

The girl put her hood down showing her purple hair and cyan locks along with her light green eyes, along with the orange sash tied around her ponytail. "No, my name's Serena."

Yuya blinked in surprise. Seeing Yuzu's face on another girl was disorienting, especially after he almost got attacked in an empty street."Oh so- sorry you just look like…"

"Look like what?" Serena asked, raising her eyebrow, her voice seemed commanding, standing with a frow on her face, yet she didn't seem angry.

"M...my girlfriend. Your face is identical to my girlfriend Yuzu."

"Yuzu?"

"Yeah, Yuzu Hiragi. Oh and...I'm Yuya, Yuya Sakaki, thanks for the save."

"I didn't do it to save you; I just don't like it when it's an unfair advantage. People should fight with honor. These idiots seemed in need of a lesson."

"Ah, still thanks anyway. I don't think I've seen you guys before, I'd remember someone with the same face as my childhood friend."

"Nah we're new here, transferred yesterday," the boy with the cyan hair said, licking a lollipop. "I'm Sora, by the way, Sora Shun'in."

"Hi," Yuya said with a bright smile.

' _Wow, he couldn't be more different than him.'_ Both Serena and Sora thought, seeing how much different Yuya seemed than Yuri despite having the same face. Even Sora didn't feel the need to run from the boy's gaze.

"Say can you do us a favor?" Sora asked.

"A favor?" Yuya questioned, tilting his head.

"Yeah," Sora said with a grin. "Like we said we're new, and we're duelists, we heard Miami city had the best of the best Duelists around and great schools, and that they created a new summoning method. We wondered if you could lead us to one of these schools so we can check it out."

"Duelists huh? Well sure, what do you guys use? Most schools only teach Tribute Summoning, though some also have advanced classes."

"We use Fusion," Serena stated proudly.

"Yeah, we're pretty good at it," Sora continued, placing his hands behind his head and giving Yuya a grin.

"And we were interested in checking out the new summoning methods, so can you help us?" Serena asked.

"Sure, as far as I know only You Show will have classes about Pendulum Summoning until LDS starts them too, which is probably not for a while."

"What's the difference in schools?" Sora asked.

"You Show concentrates more on Dueltaining while Leo Duel School takes itself more seriously. Leo Duel School also teaches Synchro Summoning while You Show has Fusion and Xyz only."

Sora raised his eyebrow, having a strange look on his face. "Xyz Summoning huh?"

"Yeah," Yuya said.

"Oh come on, who would waste their time Xyz Summoning? It's a pathetic summoning method. Fusion is all anyone would need," the cyan haired boy said with a chuckle, prompting Serena to nudge him with an elbow to shut up.

Yuya raised his eyebrow. "I think Xyz summoning could be neet, I haven't done it yet, but Yuzu's getting great at it."

"Your girlfriend's an Xyz user? She- Ow!" Serena nudged him to shut up again.

"I'm sorry about him, he really doesn't like Xyz. Back where we come from we had a rivalry with a school that uses Xyz summoning."

"Yeah and we kept beating them," Sora said with a smirk.

"We'd like to visit You Show if it's okay. Could you tell us where it is?" Serena continued as if Sora hadn't interpreted her.

"I'll do you one better, why don't I take you there?" Yuya said.

"Really?" Serena asked with a small smile.

"Yeah, consider it a thank you for earlier. Besides I can show you everything. My dad built that school," Yuya replied.

"Cool!" Sora said with a grin, placing the lollipop back in his mouth.

"This way," Yuya said, leading the two.

Serena grabbed Sora's arm and whispered heatedly. "Keep your ego in check Sora. We want their trust, not their spite, and insulting Xyz will not help."

"...Right," Sora conceded. "So what are the odds that there is a person who looks exactly like Yuri, with a girlfriend who looks exactly like you?"

"...Slim I'd imagine. He's so different from Yuri." Serena replied, knowing the bodyguard was trailing them, probably bored out of his mind at the moment. The three of them have been in this dimension for two days gathering information and staying out of sight. They found out about the Pendulum Summoning and needed to get more info, and who was better than the only person currently owning these cards (As far as Sora knew of course.) They were trailing Yuya to try and figure out how to approach him themselves and knew that if he was harmed because of some muscle heads they wouldn't gain what they were here for, so all in all, a happy coincidence.

Sora and Serena silently followed Yuya heading to this… You Show School.

…

…

…

 _Well then, what do you think of your Other Self?_ The familiar voice purred in Yuri's ear as he watched Yuya, Serena, and Sora leave from the rooftops. Zarc's presence and voice had become a source of comfort for Yuri through the past few weeks that he never knew he wanted or even needed before. It both scared and excited him to have this new thing.

"I'm not too sure yet," Yuri answered. "When I first arrived here, he seemed annoying and childish, with such a ridiculous philosophy."

_And now?_

"I guess he seems strong. Certiny interesting when he takes things seriously," Yuri answered. He had watched Yuya's duel as it trended on the web and the promotional materials for the upcoming Pendulum Cards. "And… I suppose I feel a pull to him now. Is that your doing?"

_It is. Inside you all, you wish to become one once more, to be me again, return me to what I once was. There is a hidden connection between all of you. I promised you, Yuri, you'll never be alone again._

Yuri nodded, his eyes never leaving Yuya as he kept moving further away. "I wanna see more of what he can do," Yuri said, a smirk appearing on his lips. "Who knows… this might be fun after all."


	12. Fight of the Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, this is practically part 2 of what I had planned for the Standard chapters for now. I plan to make the next chapter take place in Heartland and then Synchro before I come back to Standard again.
> 
> Also I do plan to change Ray's cards later on so chapter 1 is gonna have a bit of a rewrite once I figure out how these cards would work. Hope you guys leave a comment.
> 
> enjoy.

* * *

Yuya opened the door to the school and entered, letting Serena and Sora in. The two looked at how...small it was compared to the likes of Academia.

"Hey guys, I'm here!" Yuya called.

"Hey Yuya," Shuzo answered, coming in before freezing as he saw Serena behind Yuya. "Yu-yu-Yuzu?!" he yelled, looking at Serena before looking back at the room where Yuzu had been. He did it three times before blinking a few more times. "Is that a doppelganger?!"

"Yeah, that was kind of my reaction too. Shuzo-san," Yuya answered. "Anyway, this is Serena and Sora. They're new in Miami City and are thinking of getting to the school."

"Ooh, that's great!" Shuzo exclaimed. "Welcome to the You Show Duel School! If you have any questions please ask away."

Serena and Sora exchanged looks, not sure what type of dueling school this was nor used to seeing a teacher that wasn't strict or beating it into their heads that they had to be the best. "Well, we have several questions, but I guess my first would be, um, what's Dueltaining, and what's the new Summoning methods that we heard about?" Serena asked.

"Oh well you see Dueltaining is using the Solid Vision system so that we can make an entertaining duel for all, by interacting physically with the monsters and trying to put on a show to hype the crowd," Shuzo explained.

"I see," Sora said. He personally thought that it was all a waste of time. After all, the only thing that mattered was crushing your opponent in a duel. "Could we see a demonstration?"

"Of course! Come on. Mana, Joey, Yuzu!"

"What's up da-" Yuzu called as she exited the room with the other two behind her and her eyes fell on Serena. Yuzu's eyes widened, her heart hammering in her chest as she felt tears wetting her eyes at finally coming face to face with one of her counterparts. She wanted to run towards Serena, and hug her tight. Serena hadn't told her that she was coming this soon, and it hit Yuzu completely how much she wanted all her counterparts with her, to know that they're safe, to know that they're happy, to be part of her life and family.

She was so happy her heart could explode like the fireworks that were set up in her duel against Yuya.

"See what we mean?" Yuya asked, seeing Sora looking slack-jawed at Yuzu.

"This is Sora and Serena, they're two potential students to You Show Duel School. Sora, Serena, the girl with pink hair is my daughter Yuzu Hiragi. The others are two of our teachers, Mana Sennen and Joey Wheeler."

"Aren't they young to be teachers?" Sora asked.

"Yes, yes we are," Mana said smiling brightly and coming close. "Hello!"

"Uh...hi…GAH!" Sora shouted as Mana took his hand and shook it vigorously like he was a giant soda can.

"Oh, you're just so cute like a teddy bear!" Mana cooed.

"Uh… thanks…" Sora said before he and Serena were suddenly engulfed in a big hug by the dark-skinned girl. "Uhh…"

"Just to let you know, I'm a hugger!" Mana said.

"So which one of you is the Xyz Duelist and which one uses Fusion?" Sora asked.

"Yes," Mana answered simply.

"...That's... not an answer?"

Mana just chuckled all while Joey sighed. "Take it down a notch Mana, you're being a bit creepy," he remarked.

"Right, sorry guys. So you want a live demonstration of Dueltaining and Action Dueling, right?"

"Um… yeah," Sora said.

"Alright, I'll demonstrate. So who wishes to be my opponent?!"

"I'll have a go," Serena answered, taking a step forward, placing her hands on her hips. "I wanna try it first hand," she said with a confident smile.

"So it's not just that face that's the same with you and Yuzu," Mana remarked. "This should be fun. Now you better give me a good challenge okay?"

"Yeah, no one had broken Mana's winning streak in a while, you think you're up to it?" Joey asked playfully with a grin.

"You know, I can show you around the city if you like," Yuzu finally piped up. "You guys can join too."

"Oh sounds fun! Tell you what Serena, if you beat me, I'll buy you a Kuriboh Plushie, anyone you want! Would you like that?"

"Kuri...what? What are those?" Serena asked, looking at Sora and Yuzu for answers.

"Oh they're just the cutest things ever - even if they're classified as Fiends - and I'm in love with them! I'm sure you will too!"

"Isn't Winged Kuriboh a Fairy-type?" Yuzu asked.

"Oh yes! He's one of two Fairies in the archetype, and he's very cute too! Would you like one, Serena?"

"Um...I don't know," Serena asked, not sure if she wanted a plushy or not. She never had one in her life, and she didn't know what the use of them was.

"How about I show you just how cute they can be!" Mana said, summoning her wand and twirling it before Joey could stop her. "One...two….three!"

Then, in a puff of smoke, five furballs appeared in front of Mana. There was the regular Kuriboh and then there were four more in bright colors: cyan, pink, white, and lavender.

"HAAAAAA?!" Sora exclaimed. "H...how did you do that?!"

"I'm a magician, silly! We don't tell our secrets," Mana said with a wink.

"Kuri Kuri!" The little furballs cooed as the normal Kuriboh floated to Serena. The purple-haired girl stood frozen as the monster floated closer to her, tilted its head and Serena's eyes widened as she held the furball in her hands, and her eyes filled with sparkles.

"It's...so….FLUFFY!" Serena squealed, hugging the fluff ball to her chest, petting it, and making it purr in her arms. "IT'S LIKE A FLUFFY LITTLE KITTY!"

Sora had no idea what to do with the scene that he was witnessing, Serena's reputation in Academia was filled with her being aloof and strong-willed, wanting to be a soldier. She had _nothing_ girly about her, and would happily kick anyone's ass just because she wanted to.

Either she was a great actress… or she really never showed her true self to anyone, and every rumor was her putting on a bravado.

"Sora, you have to hug one!" Serena said.

"Uh no th-" Sora was interrupted with Serena shoving the cyan Kuriboh into Sora's arms

"Hug it! HUG IT! You're the same! His fur matches your hair after all!"

"..." Sora squeezed the furball in his arms slightly like he's hugging a teddy bear… it felt real. Was Mana using a Solid Vision Duel Disk?

But wait... _she wasn't wearing a Duel Disk!_

The Kuriboh purred in Sora's arms as if hugging him back. "...Okay, they are cute," he reluctantly conceded and heard Serena squeal.

Shuzo tried to muffle his laughter while Yuya and Yuzu were practically rolling on the floor.

"So if I beat you you'll give me a Kuriboh?" Serena asked.

"Yep!" Mana answered. "If you beat me, I'll buy you any Kuriboh plushie you want _and_ any Kuriboh card."

"DEAL!"

"Alright, so what do I get if I win?" Mana asked playfully.

"Well, what do you want?" Serena asked, tilting her head.

"Hmm… I'm not sure…"

"Oh, you can dance with my monsters if you want," Serena suggested.

"Dance?!" Mana asked delightedly. "Are they like Yuzu's monsters? Pretty fairy dancers?" Mana asked excitedly.

"Well… not exactly-" Serena started.

"Lady Serena, aren't your monsters ferocious warriors?" Sora asked. From what he saw from Serena's Lunalights, they may look pretty, and sometimes cute, but their claws can and will break steel.

"Yeah, but they love dancing too," Serena said. "And besides, she can refuse and ask for something else if she wins… well, _if_ she wins."

"Oh, you're saying I'll lose?" Mana said. "Well bring it on! I've been itching for a challenge! Especially when I unleash my _secret weapon_ ….Hehehehehe…." she laughed mysteriously, making Joey, Serena, and Sora sweatdrop.

"That's fine," Serena said with a smirk before pointing her finger at Mana. "You better give me everything you've got!"

"You betcha!"

"...We're so dead," Joey stated.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Yuzu took Serena aside away from everyone's eyes before she pulled the purple-haired girl into a bone-shattering hug, one which Serena happily returned.

"I'm so glad you made it!" Yuzu said with a huge smile.

"Me too, Yuzu this is so amazing! I'm here, actually away from Academia and with you."

"Yeah. Are you and Sora the only ones here?" Yuzu asked.

"No, Yuri's around somewhere, he's my bodyguard," Serena said with a grin.

Yuzu snickered as well. "That's just amazing."

"Mhm, I'm supposed to help him subtly 'catch' you, Ruri, and Rin, but Sora doesn't know that. He's here just to see if anyone can stand up to an attack from Academia. He's still in the mindset that Xyz Duelists are nothing but ants to be stomped on."

"That's fine, we'll make sure not to inform him of everything, we'll be careful."

Serena nodded with a smile, before getting a little more serious. "Are you okay? After hearing about the Parasites and all?"

"I'd be lying if I say I was fine. That the son of a bitch doesn't care about anyone at all. Akaba is a narcissistic asshole who cares only for his desires. He'd do anything to get what he wants, no matter who gets hurt or how."

Serena nodded. "Yeah, he is, but Ray promised to protect us, and she will. He won't get away with it. I do hope Ruri's okay, though. I know that she's not fragile, but the Parasites were a hard blow on her."

Yuzu nodded. "Yeah, with everything she's going through, it must be hard on her the most. I hope she doesn't do anything _too_ rash. When we meet her, we're giving her a day of fun."

Serena smiled. "Yeah, she deserves at least one day of nothing but happiness."

"And Rin?"

"She still has no way of getting to Standard, our best bet might be to go to her."

"That might be hard without alarming anyone to what we're doing," Yuzu said.

Serena nodded. "We'll find a way."

"Yeah, the walls of dimensions are not gonna stop us from fixing everything that bastard broke. Now come on, you have a duel to go to," Yuzu said with a grin, making Serena chuckle as they Yuzu led Serena to the arena.

**(Mana: 8000) - - - - - - - - (Serena: 8000)**

Mana and Serena walked to the field and stood in front of each other.

"Who do you think would win this?" Yuya asked. Mana was one of the strongest duelists that he knew, but something about Serena made him think that she was never to be underestimated. Ever.

"Come on, it's gotta be Mana. That Serena girl has no idea who she's messing with," Joey declared with a grin.

"Mana doesn't know who _she's_ messing with either," Sora remarked. "Lady Serena is very powerful."

"Didn't she say that her monsters are _Dancers_?" Joey asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yuzu's monsters are fairies and they're pretty strong," Yuya reminded Joey.

"Let's just watch," Yuzu said, excited to get the duel starting, she knew that it was gonna be a great one. "Action Field on! Stone Castle Of the Ancients!" the pink-haired girl declared, snapping her fingers.

The field began to change, Sora and Serena's eyes widened as sparks let fro under her and Mana's feet as the room around them changed to the front of a castle, under them were now stone floors, with tall stone walls and a dark castle in the background lit by torch fire, along with a night with a full moon hanging above their heads.

"Wait what just happened? Was that a field spell?" Serena asked looking around

"No it's the Solid Vision," Yuzu answered. "These are what make Action Duels so fun!"

"It's basically a mood-setting made to make the duel more dynamic. Along the field, you'll find Action Cards that could help you win a duel or survive another turn or a Trap Card that you simply couldn't use." Mana explained. "It makes things unpredictable! The field does not have an effect on monsters or cards, so you don't need to worry about it."

"I see," Serena said with a nod looking around, hearing the wind howling at night, and the grass outside of the stone walls moving along, and the pale moonlight shining down.

"Ah, but what a beautiful field!" Mana exclaimed. "A castle that is built for magicians to weave their magic, and is sacred to them and them alone. And a beautiful full moon, where the magicians' strength is at its peak...oh I love it all!"

"So you're into Spellcasters huh, I should have known with that magic wand you have, the Kuriboh kinda put me off for a loop," Serena said.

"Yep, Magicians, and I have one of the most powerful archetypes around."

"Oh?" Serena asked with a smirk.

"Yep, you'll see," Mana said with a grin.

"Well, as long as I don't get literal frost burns," Serena whispered to herself.

"I'll start! So I draw!" Mana declared drawing her card and looking at the ones in her hand before grinning. "First I'll summon Lemon Magician Girl in attack mode!"

With a giggle, a Magician Girl emerged onto the field. She was a girl wearing a yellow shoulderless short dress with two layers of sleeves green fabric around her waist with a pink heart as a buckle with gold and white leggings, yellow pointy shoes, and a short wand. (800 ATK)

"Lemon Magician girl?" Serena asked.

"Yep! Look at her, isn't she just _cute_?" Mana gushed and Lemon Magician Girl winked a heart appearing from it and smiling.

"Is she gonna just keep gushing over her cards or duel already?" Sora asked, annoyed.

"You think _that's_ Mana gushing? Kid, you have seen nothing yet," Joey said.

Sora groaned. Serena would end this duel in two turns if she so much as felt lazy. Lady Serena wasn't in the habit of toying with others.

"I place one card face down and end my turn," Mana said, placing a card in the spell and trap slot on the Duel Desk. "Now let's see your monsters then."

Serena frowned at seeing only one weak monster on the field. "You shouldn't underestimate me like that," she said. "Now It's my turn, and I draw!" the purple-haired girl declared drawing a card and looking at her hand.

"First I discard Lunalight Black Sheep so that I can add one Polymerization card to my hand," Serena said, showing the card in her hand before discarding it to the graveyard. Then a transparent black and white monster appeared beside Serena and placed her hand on the Duel Desk letting Serena add a card to her hand and show Mana.

"Lunalights?" Yuya asked. "What are those?"

Joey shrugged. "No idea, guess they're animal-themed though. Also Fusion."

"A sheep!" Mana squeed. "I love sheep, she looks adorable, I just wanna run my hand through her wool!"

"Well, you've seen nothing yet, cause I now fuse Lunalight Crimson Fox and Lunalight Emerald Bird!" Serena declared as the fusion portal appeared behind her, and the red fox and green bird floated up to it before being sucked in as Serena brought her hands together and began to chant.

"Cleaver red fox running through the darkness! Winged monster flying on emerald wings! Spin together in the Moon's gravity and create a new power Fusion Summon! Level 7, Lunalight Cat Dancer!" Serena chanted, pointing at the moon as the sound of fast feet brushing against the grass outside the castle walls could be heard, a monster jumped up high against the moon, twirling the two daggers in her hand before landing gracefully on the stone walls, smirking.

The monster had purple skin with red long hair, purple skin-tight pants, and cyan fabric falling around her, with a mask over her face and a half-moon purple crown on her head, along with golden hoops around her wrists and daggers in each hand, dancing into the field with the moon behind her, giving Panther predator a smirk showing her own fangs. (2400 ATK)

Mana gasped, and Lemon Magician Girl looked in wonder at the Beast Warrior. "Gods, she's gorgeous!" Mana declared looking at the red-haired monster.

Cat Dancer purred, ready to attack the monster that her opponent had in front of her.

" _That's_ her monster?! She looks vicious!" Joey said.

"Yeah, and that's her weakest fusion," Sora said, placing his cheek between his hands, as he expected this to end quickly.

"Now I activate my Monster's effect!" Serena declared. "First up is Lunalight Crimson Fox: if she's sent to the graveyard using a card's effect I get to choose one of your monsters and reduce their attack points to 0.

"And at the same time, I chain Emerald Bird's effect! If _she's_ sent to the graveyard by a card's effect as well, I get to target one Lunalight Monster in my Graveyard and Special Summon it in defense mode with their effects negated, so I summon Lunalight Black Sheep!"

As a transparent Crimson Fox ran through Lemon Magician Girl reducing her attack to 0, black sheep jumped up into the moonlight before falling to her knees in defense mode. (600 DEF)

"No Foxy!" Mana wailed as a red aura surrounded Lemon Magician Girl.

"And I'm not done yet," Serena added. "I still have my normal summon."

"Wow! Three monsters in one go," Shuzo gasped.

"Yeah," said Yuzu.

"But Mana is capable of more," Joey said.

"You keep saying that but I haven't seen anything from her yet that's not playing around," Sora said, extremely bored.

"Just you wait then," said Yuzu.

"Next I'll normally summon Lunalight Blue Cat!"

Blue Cat jumped to the field on her fours smirking at the spell caster with narrow eyes. "Meow," the cat purred with a smirk. (1600 ATK)

"A KITTY!" Mana squealed, looking at Blue Cat. "Cute cute kitty! Would you let me pet her, Serena?"

"Careful, this one has claws," Serena said, making Blue Cat grin amused.

"I don't mind; we magicians have powerful healing spells," Mana replied.

Serena had no idea how to respond to that. "Okay, next I activate Lunalight Cat Dancer's effect, I can choose to tribute one of my Lunalights on the field and during the battle phase your monsters don't get destroyed the first time they're attacked, but my Cat Dancer can attack each twice."

"Oh, that's not good…" Yuya muttered.

"Yeah cause Mana's lemon meringue girl is gonna get creamed!" Sora said.

"No, I meant not good for Serena," Yuya clearfield.

"...What are you talking about?" Sora asked, confused.

Yuya opened his lips to explain before Yuzu put her hand over his, stopping him. "Let him watch," Yuzu said with a smile on her face, "He can see for himself." Yuya complied with a nod and a smile.

Sora's attention went to the duel and kept watching in confusion.

"So I tribute Black Sheep so that my Cat Dancer can attack twice, also, each time my Cat Dancer battles, you lose 100 life points."

With a pink light, Black Sheep was back in the graveyard, with Cat Dancer getting her new ability.

"That's a cute burning effect," Mana said with a small laugh.

Serena narrowed her eyes. "Cat Dancer attack!"

Cat Dancer crouched down and jumped up, she swatted her hand and a small wind hit Mana making her lose 100 Life points

**(Mana: 7900) - - - - - - - - (Serena: 8000)**

Just as Cat Dancer's claws were about to hit Lemon Magician Girl, Mana spoke. "Lemon Magician's Girl's effect activates! Once per turn, if Lemon Magician Girl is attacked I can Special Summon a Spellcaster from my hand, but their effects are negated, and the attack is redirected towards the new Spellcaster, with the attacking monster losing half of their attack points!"

"What?!" Serena asked, and Sora had to blink at the effect.

Lemon Magician Girl raised her wand freezing Cat Dancer in the air "And I choose to Special Summon Dark Magician Girl in attack mode!" Mana declared.

From the bright light, Dark Magician Girl flew up on her wand and gave a wink standing floating above the ground in her blue outfit and pink skirt (2000 ATK)

"What in the… Does she look like _you_?!" Serena yelled looking at the new spellcaster. The monster had lighter skin, blond hair, and green eyes, but the resemblance in their faces seemed uncanny.

And to Serena's horror, her Cat Dancer's attack points were split in half. (2400 -) 1200 ATK)

Mana giggled and didn't add a thing to Serena's question. "Next I activate Kiwi Magician Girl's effect! I can discard this card from my hand to the graveyard, and my Magician Girls get a 300 ATK boost for each Magician Girl with a different name in the grave and on the field! And in case anyone needed help in math! That's a 900 ATK bonus!"

Pink aura surrounded both magician Girls as they grew stronger

_Dark Magician Girl: (2000 -) 2900 ATK)_

_Lemon Magician Girl: (0- ) 900 ATK)_

As Cat Dancer's attack was redirected at Dark Magician Girl, the magician fired a spell blast, hurling Cat Dancer back and making Serena lose life points.

Cat Dancer hissed as she stood from the ground.

**(Mana: 7900) - - - - - - - - (Serena: 7200)**

"Hold on, why wasn't Cat Dancer destroyed?!" Joey asked. "She just attacked a monster stronger than hers?"

"Cat Dancer's effect, she can't be destroyed in battle," Serena yelled. "And that's fine, after all, your Magician's Girl's effect is only once per turn correct?"

"Yeah, it is," Mana said.

"And Cat Dancer hadn't handed an attack on her yet. So Cat Dancer attacks Lemon Magician girl one more time!" Serena commanded.

Cat Dancer hissed flipping her dagger in the air

**(Mana: 7800) - - - - - - - - (Serena: 7200)**

Cat Dancer aimed it at Lemon Magician girl, grazing her side.

**(Mana: 7500) - - - - - - - - (Serena: 7200)**

"My Cat Dancer can attack her once more, but I don't think that that would be fair for Blue Cat would it? Go Blue Cat destroy Lemon Magician Girl!"

Blue Cat smirked, jumping up, and getting her claws out and attacking Lemon Magician Girl once more, before jumping up against the moon, making a flip in the air then landing beside Serena with a "Meow."

**(Mana:6800) - - - - - - - - (Serena: 7200)**

"Oh, that was brilliant!" Mana yelled, clapping excitedly. "I might actually have a challenge outside of my brothers finally!" she said, forming a fist, with Dark Magician Girl grinning in excitement as well, ready for whatever was coming.

"Serena has a monster that can't be destroyed in battle, so that's a major advantage," Yuzu said.

"Well yeah, but you're forgetting one thing," Joey said. "Cat Dancer is depowered, and she's in attack mode, meaning if Mana had the right monsters she can keep attacking the weakest link, which is Cat Dancer."

Yuzu blinked, nodding. It's not just about destroying Monsters, it's about finding a way to make your opponent lose through the weakest point that they have, and at that moment Serena had many.

"Alright then, my turn!" Mana said, drawing a card. "And good luck surviving my next move! I send one card from my hand to the graveyard in order to Special Summon Apprentice Illusion Magician!"

Appearing on the field was the dark-skinned, silver-haired Dark Magician Girl in her purple outfit. (2000 ATK) who had an even _bigger_ resemblance to Mana.

"... Okay, I'm starting to believe that you're a Duel Monster who just arrived from another dimension at this point. What's with the two monsters looking almost exactly like you?"

"She should see Palladium Oracle Mana," Yuzu muttered and Yuya snickered.

Mana giggled. "I'll tell you what's going on later. Now since Apprentice Illusion Magician was summoned to the field, I can add to my hand one 'Dark Magician' from the deck."

Apprentice Illusion Magician raised her wand as Mana grabbed Dark Magician from her deck. "And with Dark Magician in my hand, I can finally activate my Trap Card. I activate…. _dramatic pause for emphasis_ …. Magician Navigation!"

"Ohhhh, not good…" Joey winced. "Serena's a dead girl."

"She already has two monsters on the field, this can't end well," Yuzu said.

"Magician Navigation?" Serena asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Yep!" Mana declared as the Trap Card on the field activated showing Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl flying closer. "This allows me to Special Summon one Dark Magician from my hand and a level seven or lower Dark Spell Caster."

"What?!" Sora asked.

"Yeah, Atem used that a lot to get out one of his biggest monsters," Joey explained.

"Atem?" asked Sora.

"Mana's twin brother," Yuya explained.

Sora tilted his head, trying to imagine a male version of Mana who loved Kuribohs and cute animals. "Is he anything like his sister?"

At that, Yuya, Yuzu, and Joey laughed. Joey fell to the ground, clutching his stomach.

"Mana's brothers couldn't be _more_ different than her," Yuya said. "Mana always duels for fun and would get silly and gush over cute or pretty monsters all the time. But Atem can be ruthless especially when he duels. He'd never actively hurt other people, but there's always a scary intensity about him." Yuzu nodded in agreement.

Sora tilted his head not completely believing what they're saying, wondering what this Atem was really like, and what type of deck he used.

From a circle of light decorated with runes, the Dark Magician rose to the field, with a purple magician robe, a pointy hat, purple long hair, and blue eyes. He spun his long staff with both his hands, before holding it in his straight, and looking intensely at the field, a stark contrast to Apprentice Illusion Magician and Dark Magician Girl. (2500 ATK)

"And I choose to Special Summon another Dark Magician Girl to the field! Master and Apprentice, fighting side by side," Mana declared as a second Dark magician Girl appeared in a swirl of hearts and stars, giving a 'V' sign. (2000 ATK)

"Two of them?!"

" _Four_ big Monsters?" Sora asked. "They're not that strong though."

"Yeah and Dark Magician alone is a vanilla monster, but he's not alone at all," Joey said.

"I'm not done, but you might be love!" Mana said with a big grin. Serena's eyebrow furrowed.

"What are you talking about?" Serena demanded. Mana's grin got sharper.

"I activate the spell Card Dark Magic Expand!"

"Haaaa!" Joey yelled.

"This is gonna hurt," Yuzu winced.

"With this Spell Card, one of the Dark Magicians on the field gets the added bonus of _all_ Dark Magician Girls on the field and Graveyard, and currently, there are two," Mana explained.

"No way… so that's…" Sora began.

"4000 ATK," Joey said. "Man in a mirror match that card is a nuke."

"How so?" Yuya asked.

"Cause when they say field and graveyard, they mean both sides," Joey explained, and a shiver ran their spines.

The two Dark Magician Girls raised their wands chanting a spell and giving Dark Magician a power boost. (2500-) 6500)

"No…" Serena said, seeing Dark Magician grin at her.

"Go Dark Magician attack Cat Dancer! _Dark Magic Attack!_ " Mana commanded.

"I don't think so! I activate the trap card Sakuretsu Armor! When a monster attacks, I can target that monster and destroy it!"

"Nah uh~" Mana teased. "I can banish Magician Navigation from my Graveyard then target one face-up trap or Spell card and negate its effect!"

"Damn it, NO!" Serena yelled.

"Lady Serena…" Sora whispered with wide eyes, he couldn't believe how much this duel has escalated so quickly.

"Serena!" Yuzu yelled. "Look for an action Card!

"Action what?" Serena asked, her head snapping towards Yuzu.

"Don't help the enemy!" Mana pouted. "She's gotta learn this by herself!"

"She's new to this, she needs to be reminded," Yuzu yelled back.

Serena, remembering about the action cards around the field, looked around before sprinting to her right, seeing a card hanging on the edge of the door.

"I don't think so!" Mana said, running as well, and racing Serena to the card.

The two girls ran as fast as they could with Mana right on Serena's heels, in a swift move Serena jumped on an out of place stone on the wall propping herself up and grabbing the card.

Reading it quickly she activated it. "I activate the Action Card Evasion! When A monster declares an attack I can target that monster and negate it!"

"Awww!" Mana pouted. Dark Magician let out a small sigh before he stopped charging his attack.

"That was a close one," Sora said with a sigh.

"Oh well, I still got three more Monsters, and you with one weak monster that can't be destroyed. So Magician Girls! Go! Attack Cat Dancer! Magic Burning Attack!"

The two Magician Girls charged their wands and fired a large black orb of magic at Cat Dancer, making the Fusion Monster be sent back to the wall.

"Illusion Magician Girl go! Illusion Fire!" Dark blue flames were sent from Apprentice Illusion

Magician towards Cat Dancer, striking her a third time

**(Mana:6800) - - - - - - - - (Serena: 4800)**

"Oh my god," Sora whispered, Serena had survived almost by the skin of her teeth. If it hadn't been for the action card, these magicians would have destroyed her easily.

"That's one tough kitty you got there!" Mana commented. "Hope she's not taking the attacks personally, I'd still love to dance with her."

Cat Dancer hissed. If she was at full power, she'd slice those magicians into ribbons, especially Dark Magician.

 _I'm going to claw your eyes out!_ Cat Dancer growled.

Dark Magician raised an amused eyebrow at the Dark Fusion Monster. Had Mana drew his original form, these monsters would have been no more.

 _Even your daggers are not sharp enough for that._ Dark Magician replied with a smirk, wagging his finger.

Cat Dancer stood up and walked closer, looking worse for wear, but not yet destroyed.

Serena noticed Dark Magician Girl whispering something in Mana's ear, making Mana giggle and nod with excitement.

"You know I don't think I'm done yet," Mana declared.

"Your battle phase is over, you have no monsters left and you have no cards in your hand," Serena pointed out.

"That's true, but I think I shall give you a show since you probably can make a bigger monster if you drew the right card, so I'll give you one. A battle against two behemoths of my big monsters right here and now!"

"Hold on… what? How would…" Serena's eyes widened at the two Magician Girls on the field, same Monsters means the same level which means… "you're gonna Xyz Summon!" Serena declared.

"Smart girl!" Mana said.

"So she's the Xyz user!" Sora yelled, placing a note in his head to watch the girl Mana closely.

"Oh damn Mana is not playing around at all," Yuya said.

"Playing around has left the building the moment she used Dark Magic Expand, Yuya," Joey said.

"Yeah…" Yuzu said, focused on the duel. She was pretty sure that there weren't many opponents Serena couldn't just run through with her monsters, but Mana had always been powerful.

"I overlay my two Level Six Dark Magician Girls together!"

The two Magician Girls nodded at each other as the Overlay Network opened, dark, and filled with stars. The two monsters became shining beams of pink light as they got sucked into the portal. Then a large pink beam of light shone from the center as Mana smirked. Dark Magician and Apprentice Illusion Magician looked with smiles on their faces

" _From the darkness, I invoke thee, the power of the apprentices calls forth to your existence, rise, and take control. Xyz Summon! Rank 6! Magi Magi Magician Gal!"_

When the pink light vanished, a new spellcaster emerged with a pink magical seal behind her. She looked like an older Dark Magician Girl but she wore black with gold trim instead of blue and pink while the base of her wand was also black. She also had a pink ankh tattooed in between her collar bones and two Overlay Units spinning around her. (2400 ATK)

Magician Gal floated closer to Dark Magician as and spun around as if showing him a new outfit that she had just bought and loved wearing. Dark Magician sighed with a fond smile on his face, making Magician Gal giggle and wink back at him.

"Wow…" Serena breathed out.

"Rank 6 Xyz monster huh?" Sora whispered to himself, amazed at the duel, he wasn't expecting that kind of power from a girl who acted like Mana.

"Yep, that's Mana's powers," Joey said.

"I end my turn," Mana said with a bow. "Good luck."

"My turn!" Serena declared, drawing a card. She looked at her two monsters on the field before looking at the three monsters on Mana's field with one more look at Cat Dancer who nodded at her. With a determined look, Serena activated her spell card "I activate the Spell Card Lunalight Fusion!"

Serena said, activating the Spell Card. "If my opponent has an Extra Deck Monster on the field I can use a fusion material from my deck or extra deck in order to Fusion Summon."

"Hm… maybe I shouldn't have summoned Magician Gal so soon then," Mana said, with a finger on her cheek, filing the fact for later.

Serena brought her hands together as she started to chant, and the Fusion Vortex opened behind her.

"Beautiful and Stubble beasts Dancing in the Moonlight! Blue cat that prowls through the darkness! Swarm in a vortex of the moon's gravity and revive with a new power! Fusion Summon! Come forth! The Queen of beasts dancing atop the summit of the moonlight wilderness! Lunalight Leo Dancer!"

The fusion portal decapitated and showed the full moon as a new monster appeared, she had purple skin like Cat Dancer before her, with long white hair that ends with a braid held together with maroon fabric, with three golden rings decorating it. A mask of a crescent moon on the side of her face, sark gloves with a sword in one hand, and a golden woman on her wrist that looks like a fang. (3500 ATK)

"Oooh, she looks powerful!" Mana squealed.

"She is, and you'll see just how powerful she is right now!" Serena declared. Dark Magician narrowed his eyes Magician Gal and Apprentice Illusion Magician stood with their wands drawn ready to cast her spell to protect the other two magicians.

Leo Dancer stood with a smirk on her face, staring down the sole male magician on Mana's side of the field pointing her sword at him.

_Not so smug, now are we? Cat Dancer was quite pissed at the beatdown you gave her._

Dark Magician just glared at her. _Trust me when I say that Mana has more surprises than you think._

Leo Dancer giggled _So does Serena._

"Leo Dancer attack Illusion Apprentice Magician!"

 _With Pleasure!_ Leo Dancer said with a sharp smirk as her sights were set on the weakest Magician. She bounced into the air and aimed her claws at the Spellcaster on the field.

"Oh no, you don't!" Mana yelled as she started looking around for an Action Card to help her escape and save her magicians.

Serena narrowed her eyes as she ran after Mana to get the Action Card before the magician did. Mana jumped up, with Serena with one second behind her. The audience watched with bated breath as Serena was able to grab onto the stone wall, while Mana got the card.

"I activate the Action Card Quick Guard!" Mana declared. "I can target one monster on the field and place them in defense mode, and I choose your Leo Dancer!"

"Uh uh, that's not gonna work," Serena said. "Leo Dancer can't be targeted by my opponent's card effects!"

"Heeeeeeh?" Mana asked panicking, and that's when Magi Gal and Dark Magician looked worried.

Mana looked panicked for a moment before she decided, "Then I target Apprentice Illusion Magician and turn her into defense position!" the brown-haired girl said quickly, her monster kneeling down and crossing her arms.

Leo Dancer chuckled as she destroyed Apprentice Illusion Magician

"Ow! Well, we escaped th -"

"I'm not done!" Serena yelled with a grin on her face. "Since Leo Dancer attacked her ability is activated, now she can destroy _all Special Summoned monsters you control._ And last I checked… _it was all of them_!"

Leo Dancer spun around right as she landed down grabbing one of the rings in her hair and sending it at both magicians, both Dark Magician, and Magi Gal's eyes widened before they were destroyed.

"NO!" Mana yelled.

"Oh and by the way, Leo Dancer has a second attack~"

"HOW IS THAT FAIR?!" Mana pouted.

"It's not," Serena simply replied with a shrug.

Leo Dancer pounced up before landing right in front of Mana and with a swift swipe of her leg, she swiped Mana's leg, making Mana lose her balance and fall backward before Leo Dancer caught her waist, and pulled her up with a small spin.

**(Mana:3200) - - - - - - - - (Serena: 4800)**

"I place one card face down and end my turn," said Serena.

"Holy crap that's one powerful monster!" Joey yelled. "I'd hate going against her in a duel."

"Okay, you asked for it! No more Miss Mana the Kind and Caring! Now it's time to get serious!"

"Next time start with your A-game!" Serena called.

"And that Xyz wasn't serious?" asked Sora.

"It's my turn and I draw!" Mana said drawing a card and looking at what was in her hand before she grinned and started laughing.

Serena frowned in confusion and Leo Dancer tilted her head, ready for a fight.

"I'm gonna have to use five monsters but he is quite worth it," Mana said

"Wait a second, _five monsters_?!" Sora asked.

"Where are you getting these monsters from?" Serena asked.

"Why my graveyard of course," Mana answered with a giggle. "I activate the spell card Magicalized Fusion! This allows me to use monsters from my field or graveyard as fusion materials.

"Wait, she knows Fusion too?!" Sora shouted. _An Xyz user who knows Fusion! It's a nightmare! How does that even work?_

"Yep. Mana's good," Yuya said.

"So I remove Dark Magician Girl, Lemon Magician Girl, Kiwi Magician Girl, Illusion Magician Apprentice, and Dark Magician from play!"

" _Magicians and sorcerers unite as one, come together with one last spell to summon a great new power! FUSION SUMMON! QUINTET MAGICIAN!"_

From the fusion portal a new monster appeared, he bore a resemblance to the Dark Magician, however his robes black and dark blue with gold linings on his gloves knees, and boots, in one hand he held a wand while in the other he held a staff with a white summoned shaped crystal, and around him flew five rune circles. (4500 ATK)

"Ow...Shit..." Serena said looking at the new magician and at the attack points.

"Quintet Magician's effect!" Mana said with a grin. "If he was Fusion summoned using five Spell Casters with different names, then all the cards on my opponent's field gets destroyed!"

"It's a nuke too?!" Sora yelled.

"Yep, that's Mana's strongest monster," Joey said."Not a lot of people survive him."

The only thing that was destroyed was Serena's, Trap Card.

"Hey what gives?!" Mana yelled.

Serena smirked. "Sorry, but Leo Dancer can't be destroyed by card effects."

"It can't be targeted and it can't be destroyed by card effects?!"

"Okay… her monsters are crazy strong!" Yuya said, amazed at the Lunalight's effects.

"Mhm," Yuzu said with a smile. This has been an amazing duel so far.

Mana grinned "Then I'm just gonna need a stronger monster...oh wait, I have one! By any chance, Leo Dancer isn't immune to Battle Destruction is she?" Mana teased, Serena could only glare in silence. "Didn't think so. Go! Quintet Magician! Attack Leo Dancer. Serena's fusion monster drew her sword ready to try and attack back or defend herself.

Serena ran to the side looking for an Action Card, Mana didn't bother chasing her as the card was far closer to Serena. She grabbed the card and scowled. Mana smiled.

"Ran out of luck have we?" Mana called with a smirk. "Go on Quintet Magician. Attack this Lioness and end her!"

Quintet Magician smirked and raised his arm up, a circle of runes appeared before replicating itself five times over, before being sent at Leo Dancer. The Lunalight Monster tried to dodge the magical attacks but was unsuccessful and with several runes hitting her, she was destroyed.

**(Mana:3200) - - - - - - - - (Serena: 3800)**

"Leo Dancer!" Serena screamed as her monster was destroyed.

"Might as well give up now, my monster can't be destroyed by effect, tributed, or used for a fusion summon, there's no way you can destroy him now.

Serena gritted her teeth, almost hissing at Mana. "No way, I'm not giving up!" Serena declared. "Just because of one big monster? Huh! As if. Now it's my turn! I draw!" she yelled while drawing a card.

Mana was impressed at Serena's determination.

"Since the Action Card was quite useless I'll banish Lunalight Serenade Dance from my graveyard and send the card from my hand to the graveyard so I can special Summon Lunalight Blue Cat from my deck in defense position!"

The blue beast warrior jumped up from her card and kneeled in defense position. (1200 DEF)

"I place one card face down and end my turn."

"Wow, Mana forced Serena on the defensive," Yuzu said, blinking.

" _Damn it…"_ Sora thought.

"Playing the defensive won't save ya!" Mana said, raising her arm above her head with a big grin on her face. "So I draw!" the magician declared drawing her card and smiled as she looked at it.

"I summon Chocolate Magician Girl!" Mana said, placing the card on top of the duel desk.

It was a young girl with cyan hair with a blue shirt with a heart-opening on it, a blue short skirt and boots that reached her knees, and a magician's hat, who winked as she came to the field. (1600 ATK)

"This is the end! Go! Chocolate Magician Girl, destroy Blue Cat!"

Chocolate Magician Girl pointing her wand at the monster, Blue Cat hissed as the magician threw pink flames from her wand. Serena didn't move as Blue Cat was destroyed.

"I activate Blue Cat's effect and chain it with the Trap Card, Lunalight Reincarnation Dance!" Serena said as she revealed her trap card which had Lunalight Purple Butterfly and Lunalight White Rabbit against the moon.

"If one of my monsters was destroyed by battle or effect I can add up to two Lunalight Monsters to my hand, and I choose Lunalight Emerald Bird and Lunalight Yellow Martin!" Serena declared showing the two cards to Mana.

"Now Lunalight Blue Cat's effect, if she's destroyed by battle or Card Effect I can Special Summon one Lunalight Monster from my deck to the field and I choose Lunalight Purple Butterfly in defense mode!"

The purple monster with wings and a half-moon mask over her eyes appeared and kneeled looking determinedly at the bigger monster. (1000 ATK)

"Ahh, I really don't like destroying cute monsters but oh well. Quintet Magician, attack once more!" Mana yelled.

With one push from his hand, Purple Butterfly was destroyed, shattering into pieces.

"Playing the defensive won't save you for long you know," Mana said with a smile as Chocolate Magician Girl giggled in amusement.

"Yeah, you're right… good thing I won't be anymore," Serena said. "Now I draw!" She declared drawing a card before placing it in her hand and picking another one. "First, I summon Lunalight Emerald Bird to the field!"

A light green monster with bird wings down her arms with blue and orange leotard appeared on the field with a smile. (1200 ATK)

Mana blinked, she knew that this monster probably wasn't her biggest concern, she wondered what she could do.

"And when Emerald Bird is special or normal summoned I get to send one Lunalight Card from my hand to the graveyard and draw another a card, so I send Lunalight Yellow Marten from my hand to the graveyard and draw a card, then Yellow Marten's effect activates, if she's sent to the graveyard by a card's effect I get to add a Lunalight Spell/Trap Card to my hand,"

A transparent version of a yellow marten in a pink dress and long hair appeared, wearing a sweet smile on her face as she brought her hands together letting Serena grab a card from her deck.

"I choose, Lunalight Fusion!" Serena declared showing the card to Mana.

"Hoo, are you summoning another Leo Dancer then? You know she still wouldn't be able to stand up to my two magicians~" Mana said confidently with a happy grin.

"Oh no, I'm not gonna be summoning Leo Dancer," Serena answered.

"Huh? Isn't she your strongest monster?" Mana questioned.

"In a way, yes she is, but she's not the one I need right now, this a battle of attack points."

"Hmm?" Mana blinked at Serena's reply.

"Oh you'll see soon, I activate Yellow Marten's effect."

"How many effects does she have?" Yuya asked.

"I can return one Lunalight Card from my field to my hand and I can special Summon Lunalight Yellow Marten to the field, but once she leaves it she's banished."

 _What is she planning?_ Asked Chocolate Magician Girl.

 _I suppose we'll have to wait and see._ Quintet Magician replied.

From a light Yellow Marten jumped into the field, spinning in the air before landing on her card in defense position with a sweet smile and a giggle. (2000 DEF)

Mana's eyes transformed into hearts looking at the sweet weasel on the field.

" _SHE'S SO CUTE! I WANNA PET HER I WANNA PET HER SO BADLY~"_

Yellow Marten covered her mouth as she giggled adorably.

"Unggghhh!" Mana made unintelligible sounds.

"...is she okay?" Sora asked as Mana squealed.

"Yeah, that's her usual gushing," Joey answered.

" _How is a girl this powerful so goofy and… girly?"_ Sora asked himself unable to understand Mana at all.

"Next I use Lunalight Fusion and Fuse Lunalight Emerald Bird, Yellow Martin, and from my deck Lunalight Crimson Fox!"

"From your deck? Oh right, Quintet Magician… wait Fox _again_?!" Mana asked, her face getting a little pale.

" _Clever Fox running through the darkness! Yellow beast dancing through the night! Emerald Monster flying with her green wings! Gather in the gravity of the moon and become a new power. Dancing in the pale moonlight with your sisters, Ancient Beast gathering powers from your Legacy appear! Fusion Summon Lunalight Saber Dancer!"_

The monster was blond with a big golden headdress, she wore a black and golden corset that went down her back and showed her midriff, and around her waist was a piece of long maroon fabric that she wore like a skirt, with golden leg braces and a golden circular anklet. (3000 ATK)

Chills ran through Mana and her magicians as the new Monster's silhouette appearing against the full moon in the sky, before landing gracefully on the ground of the castle in front of Serena grinning confidently, showing her fangs

"Saber Dancer gets 200 attack points for each Lunalight in the graveyard or banished, and last I checked there were 12 monsters in total."

"So that…" Yuya yelled and Joey seemed to count on his fingers

"2400 ATK points," Sora said.

(3000-)5400 ATK)

"That's more than enough to destroy Quintet Magician!" Yuzu said

"You got that right, but don't forget Crimson Fox' effect, if she's sent to the graveyard by a card's effect…"

"One monster's attack becomes Zero!" Mana replied.

"Yep and last I checked your magician isn't immune to card effects at all is he?"

Another transparent Fox ran through the field and past Quintet Magician, with a red aura, the magician became weaker.

(4500-)0 ATK)

"Quintet Magician!" Mana yelled.

"And that's more than enough to make you lose this duel! Go! Saber Dancer destroy Quintet Magician!"

"One hit from that cat and Mana loses!" Joey yelled.

"I won't let that happen!" Mana said before she started running around looking for an Action Card.

"Mana still has a chance!" Yuzu yelled.

"Come on Mana you can survive!" Yuya cheered.

"This could really go either way…" Sora whispered completely enraptured with the duel.

It was hard to see any card around and Saber Dancer was getting closer to destroy her biggest monster. Mana finally saw a card on the ground and ran to it jumping towards it to catch it.

"Mine!" Screamed Serena as she slid down the floor, grabbing the card before Mana even touched it.

"No!" Mana yelled.

"Saber Dancer! Destroy him!" Serena said, jumping to her feet.

As Mana turned around with a gasp Saber Dancer jumped up raising her blades in the air and with a swift movement from her hips, she ran Quente Magician through, jumping back and landing back on the ground easily with a satisfied purr.

And for a few seconds, everyone was silent.

**(Mana:0) - - - - - - - - (Serena: 3800)**

...

...

….

Until they were not.

"I win!" Serena yelled, jumping in the air with a laugh.

"I can't believe it…" Yuya gasped. "Mana lost…"

Everyone sat there with their jaws on the floor. "And after she summoned Quintet Magician too!" Joey said. "HOLY SHIT!"

Mana blinked a few times before standing up." Wow, that...THAT WAS AMAZING!" Mana yelled from the top of her lungs. "This is the best duel I've had in so long!" She practically flew to Serena's side and hugged her, making the purple-haired girl stiffen. "This was so much fun, Serena! You better give me a rematch!"

Serena chuckled before relaxing. She wasn't used to physical affection at all, and yet, she was easily getting them now from Zarc, Yuzu, and even Mana hugged her with careless abandon, like showing affection was the most normal act of all time.

"Sure, I'll take you on that… And you can still dance with my Lunalights later if you want, Cat Dancer would probably wanna scratch your eyes out first though."

"REALLY?! They were such pretty pretty things! Just for that, you get two plushies!"

Serena gasped happily. "Awesome!"

"These are the same two girls who just fought tooth and nail against each other…acting like they're best friends and shrieking over adorable plushies _!_ " Sora noted in complete bewilderment. _They're gonna react like crazy over_ my _monsters._

"Yuzu! When are we heading out?!" Serena asked.

"Anytime you guys want!" Yuzu called back.

"Well that was fun, I wanna try it now," Sora said with a smile before putting another lollipop in his mouth.

"Really now?" Yuzu asked.

"Yeah, and I do wanna see those Pendulum Cards up close, if that's okay~ pretty please~" Sora pegged, pressing his hands together and smiling innocently at Yuya.

"Ah… well…" Yuya started, he had been dueling for the last few days to help President Pegasus to develop more cards, and he'd be happy to have a fun duel again, and he had no idea what Sora's deck is like, he only knew that he used fusion.

With Yuzu, Yuya might not have known all of her Extra Deck monsters but he was familiar with most of her deck, and most of the duels he had in Industrial Illusions were Tribute Summon based, only designed to make Yuya show what his cards were capable of. So having a duel with Sora could be quite exciting.

"Excuse me," a familiar voice said. Everyone's attention went to the familiar young man with silver hair, red square rimmed glasses, a long-sleeved dark blue shirt, grey pants, and a red scarf. Despite his attire, he held an aura of intimidation that made everyone in the building freeze.

"Reiji Akaba?!" Shuzo shouted, surprised to have the young CEO in his duel school of all places. Pegasus was surprised enough, but Reiji was even a bigger shock, especially since their schools have a bit of a small rivalry.

 _Akaba?!_ Serena thought. _As in the Professor's son and Ray's brother… wait… I know that boy._

Reiji nodded once. "I tried the front office, but I found no one there. I'm here on President Pegasus' recommendation, and I would like to speak with Yuya Sakaki if possible."

"Mister Akaba, if this is about the contract…" Shuzu started

 _Contract?_ Thought Sora raising his eyebrow.

"It's not," Reiji replied, shaking his head. "If this is a bad time-"

"No, not at all. We can talk now," Yuya said, interpreting Reiji with a smile, and walked down to meet Reiji.

"What is this about?" Joey asked.

"Not sure," Shuzo replied, he had no idea what to think of any of this, he just hoped Yuya could take care of himself.

Yuya led Reiji to a private room where the two of them could talk alone.

"What is this about um… Mister Reiji?" Yuya asked.

"Reiji's just fine, Yuya," the silver-haired boy replied. "I wanted to talk to you about those Pendulum monsters of yours."

Yuya nodded in response. "Yeah...uh…"

"I've talked with Pegasus, and I did manage to get the truth out of him regarding your Pendulum Monsters."

Yuya's eyes widened. "Oh…oh I…" he wasn't sure if he should panic that Pegasus had easily let the truth about the cards slip, or be surprised that Reiji had believed that it was basically magic that created an entire new summoning method, that even Yuya was not sure about.

"First I don't want you to worry, that can be our secret," Reiji said, wanting to quell Yuya's worries. "I do believe that these Pendulum cards will be quite useful, and I simply wanted to get more information on how that worked. As well as asking for a favor."

"A favor?"

"Yes, I plan to obtain my own Pendulum cards once we design them, and I thought that free publicity for both our schools would be useful for both of us, so I suggest an exhibition match to advertise them and more pendulum use."

"Do the participants have to use Pendulums?" Yuya asked

"No, they may fight with their style and decks. This is more to showcase both schools' method of teaching."

"How big do you want it?"

"We can decide later, however, need be."

"...Is there… Another reason for this match?" Yuya asked, feeling like there was something he was missing.

"No, not at all," Reiji said with a small smile. Something in Yuya told him that Reiji was lying, but he wasn't sure what else Reiji could want.

"Okay, I'm ready to answer your questions about the Pendulum Summoning, but you'll have to go through the details of the Exhibition match with Shuzo-San."

Reiji smiled. "Very well."

"I might be about to duel Sora, he said that he uses a Fusion Deck though I'm not sure what. You're welcome to stay and watch."

Reiji nodded. "I believe that would be perfect Yuya, thank you."

Yuya smiled back and nodded to Reiji, happy that there wouldn't be any actual trouble between their schools.

…

…

…

"Reiji knows!" Serena suddenly told Yuzu.

"What?" Yuzu asked.

"Reiji knows. He knows about Academia, he knows about the war, and he knows about _me_."

"What?! How?" Yuzu asked.

"Years ago, he came to Academia. I was trying to get away from the Obelisk Forces and teachers. He tried to help me before getting caught too. Akaba sent him home and prevented him from returning."

"So is he on our side?" Yuzu asked.

"I think so… he's gotta be, right? I mean, I don't think he knows about Ray and Zarc but he knows what his father is planning."

"What do we do? Do we tell him about us?" Yuzu asked.

"No, that might not be such a good idea… at least not about you. I… I could approach him, see his reaction. If he's on our side I can tell him about me...maybe."

"I don't know Serena, it could be dangerous."

"He's just one person," Serena said.

"Yeah, and he's one of the best," Yuzu reminded her.

Serena sighed, looking away. She wanted to be of help.

"Hey Yuzu," Yuya called.

"Oh Yuya," Yuzu said, both her and Serena turning to the red-eyed boy with Reiji behind him. "What's up?" Yuzu asked.

"Um… I decided to invite Reiji to see the next duel with Sora. You wanna stay and watch or take Serena and Mana out?"

Yuzu placed her hands over her hips. "Now what kind of a girlfriend would I be if I just left without staying to cheer you on huh?" she asked playfully.

Yuya blushed slightly, his heart beating a little too fast with glee at Yuzu calling herself his girlfriend. "You're the best Yuzu," he said with a big grin.

"You bet I am," Yuzu replied and placed a kiss on Yuya's cheek.

Reiji seemed to be standing there awkwardly, not sure how to respond to the exchange between the two best friends. Reiji had never had friends, or a love interest in any way in all of his sixteen years so he has no idea how to act.

"Right, let's go, I think Sora's still waiting," Yuya said, rubbing the back of his head. Yuzu nodded as the two of them walked back towards the arena.

As Serena turned to follow them, Reiji stopped her with a hand over her shoulder. "Serena, correct? I would like to talk with you in private."

Serena's eyes looked back to where Yuya and Yuzu headed before looking back at Reiji. "Is it about the war on Heartland?" Serena whispered.

Reiji nodded after a second. "So you do remember me."

"I do," she said with a nod.

"Once you're alone, head to the LDS office, tell them your name is Serena and you'll be escorted in, alone. We do need to talk."

Serena looked into Reiji's eyes for a few seconds before nodding. "Alright."

"Thank you, Serena," Reiji said, and the two of them walked back to the arena


	13. Heart of the Matter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I'm back. I hope you give me some feedback on it and leave a review or a comment. 
> 
> Enjoy.

Yuto woke up startled as if someone had kicked him awake from a deep slumber. He looked around, seeing the sleeping bags of other refugees. All of them were trying to get some rest but some of them were whimpering or praying that they survived another day. He didn't see Ruri or Shun around though, but with a weird feeling in his chest he got up. Yuto walked through the refuge camp heading no place in particular, his mind feeling fuzzy with his head not settling on one idea or the other before finding a secluded place.

Yuto leaned against a rock and looked into the distance, it had been a few months, close to a year since this hell had started, a war that seemed to have no end, and no victory in sight, fear and anger took control, hatred and the need to survive removed any and all reason for happiness. It was painful to see. Yuto missed the old days, the peaceful days, where the worst thing that he had to face was finals or a hard duel against another student.

There was no place for smiles anymore. Just tears, whether of sadness, mourning, anger, or fear. These seemed to be the only emotions going through the citizens of Heartland, and it broke Yuto's heart. He remembered the time the new stranger arrived in a flash of light, Yusho Sakaki, he introduced himself in his bright red suit and black silk hat. He explained that he didn't know how he got here and that he was probably in the wrong place,. But s time went on, he offered to teach the citizens of Heartland about Dueltaining and had brought so many smiles and happiness there.

After the invasion came, there was no hide nor hair from the man. Some people think that he just ran away like a coward, Yuto knew Allen did, others think that he was carded as well. Yuto himself had no idea; he knew Yusho was a great duelist, and he wouldn't fall down so easily. But fighting wave after wave of Obelisk Forces could exhaust the best of them. Yusho was a good man, so Yuto at least hoped that he was okay.

He knew Yusho would not have been happy with the way that they've been dueling. Yusho had always placed the ability to entertain others over winning a duel, putting a smile on people's faces was worth the world. Yuto had liked that thinking, he had liked entertaining others too. He might not have been flashy about it like Yusho, but it used to be fun. Hhe used to laugh and marvel at the way others would duel, their strategies, their monsters' attacks. Heartland used to be a happy place.

Now...Now the only thing a duel is used for is to survive and hurt others. If you did not fight, you would not survive.

Yuto opened his pocket and removed Dark Rebellion to look at him. His dragon had always been attentive to his mood, he was calm and easy-going when Yuto was having fun, prepared to play with the opponent and make Yuto and others laugh, other times when Yuto was angry, Dark Rebellion would be a vicious creature, ready to tear others limb from limb, and in these past few duels he all but drew blood from Academia students, and lately, even more, Dark Rebellion seemed as if he was anticipating something.

Of course Yuto wasn't sorry or guilty for what he did to the Obelisk forces, after all, why should he? They were the ones that attacked Heartland, invaded the peaceful land and started carding everyone, man, woman and child. Yuto's hate for them grew day by day and Fusion itself became a weapon associated with the scum that continue to come to them and destroy everything, take everything from them. No one was safe.

These facts kept repeating in Yuto's mind over and over again, adding nothing but misery and hatred to his heart. It had escalated to the point that one of the few things that would make him smile was to break and hurt an Academia duelist, seeing them whimper in fear and regret, at the look at the _pain_ that he was going to unleash on those red/yellow/blue bastards. All through the duel he would grin and smirk as his monsters drew blood from his opponents, even after the duel was done, he would walk towards the person and break him even more, step on his chest, break his arm, punch them until his hand was made red by their blood, and then Yuto would card them with no hesitation.

It worried him, whenever he sat to think like this. Academia deserved no mercy, and any hesitation would mean his own death and one less defender to Heartland, but… how far was he willing to go? How far could he go?

Yuto gave a sigh before activating his Duel Desk and summoning Dark Rebellion. The dragon roared as it appeared before Yuto before the grey-eyed boy placed his finger over his lips and made a small shushing sound, making Dark Rebellion calm down. Yuto slid down to the ground and opened his arms, making Dark Rebellion coo as he moved closer to Yuto and let his master pet him, placing a soft smile on Yuto's lips. Dark Rebellion placed his head on Yuto's lap, letting the boy pet him.

" _My Dark Rebellion,_ " Yuto heard himself think, and Dark Rebellion seemed to respond by giving a small roar. His dragon has always been a source of happiness to Yuto as if he was a part of the grey-eyed boy. He has always been on Yuto's side, he became one of the few comforts Yuto had in the war. The two of them stayed a few minutes like that until something grabbed Dark Rebellion's attention, and made him look to the side.

Yuto's eyes widened as he saw that the person that had arrived was Ruri, and she was crying,. Tears stained her beautiful face, her eyes were red, her knuckles were dirty as if she had been punching something.

"Ruri?!" Yuto asked, panicking, and started to stand up to go check on her. Ruri shook her head and walked closer to Yuto before placing her hand over Dark Rebellion's head, making the dragon nuzzle against her hand and coo worriedly.

"Are you okay? What happened?" Yuto asked, fear and worry gripping his heart, "Should I call Shun?"

Ruri looked at Yuto and silently shook her head before placing a hand over Yuto's shoulder and pressing down a bit, giving him a sign to sit back down. With a few seconds of hesitation, Yuto obeyed.

"Ruri?" Yuto asked again as the black-haired girl sat silently beside him and leaned on him, placing her hand over his shoulder, and resting her head on his chest. Yuto blushed before wrapping his hands around Ruri and pulling her closer, rubbing her back gently.

Ruri had woke up crying after the news about the parasites had hit her and she woke up from Ray and the other girls' comfort she needed some air.

"It's too much sometimes," Ruri whispered.

"Huh?" Yuto asked, looking at Ruri.

"Fighting this war, not knowing when it will all end, worrying that you might lose someone, or that you yourself would be lost," Ruri whispered, her voice shaking a bit. "We have to win, we have to, but when do we know that it's all gonna end?!" her hand clutched Yuto's shoulder as more tears fell down her cheeks.

Yuto's heart hurt and he pressed his lips together, a power buried inside of him rose, filling him with righteous fury and hatred, spreading through his body. Yuto's hand reached out and whipped Ruri's tears away. "We can win this, we have to, no matter the cost, no matter what we have to do, this is our home, and we will defend it. They will pay for all that they did Ruri, I promise," he whispered to Ruri against her lips, he placed his fingers under Ruri's chin, gently pulling her for a kiss, it made both of them shiver.

" _I wish I could protect you,"_ Yuto thought, " _I wish that I can end all of this, that I was strong enough to destroy everyone in Academia."_

"Yuto," Ruri whispered. "You know you can lean on me too when you feel that it's all too much."

Yuto shook his head with a smile. "I'm fine Ruri," he replied.

Ruri sat up straighter and ran her hand through Yuto's hair and down his cheek, before pressing their foreheads together. "We're all in constant anxiety and fear, smiles are few and fleeting, so any happiness, any small comfort that we can take from each other... it's alright to ask," she whispered, giving Yuto's lips another kiss.

Ruri broke the kiss slowly but Yuto pulled her in for another, the kiss became heated and Yuto's hand threaded through Ruri's hair, while the other one was placed between her shoulder blades. Yuto's lips kissed down Ruri's jaw and down her neck as she clung to him, placing her palm over the back of his neck and the other grabbed his shirt.

After a while Ruri sat on Yuto's lap, as she buried her head in his neck, Yuto ran his hand through her hair, taking comfort in each others' arms, breathing each other in, so familiar and comforting, yet making the fear grow, the fear to lose all of this, the little happiness between them, the small sweet comfort, making them fight for a new day.

"Once this war is done, once we win and everything is back to normal, I want to smile again, I want to laugh, I wish a duel would come where we're just smiling again, where everyone is laughing," Ruri said. "I want happiness to come back to our world."

Yuto nodded. "I miss all of it too, now the only thing I feel when I duel is anger and rage, I just want nothing but to destroy."

"They deserve to be destroyed," Ruri whispered with venom in her tone, clutching Yuto's hand. "We will beat them, and we will win, and we will be safe again. No matter the cost, no matter the power, no matter the depths of darkness that we have to fall to."

Before Yuto could mull over Ruri's worlds they were interrupted. "Yuto? Ruri?" The two of them heard Shun calling. The two smiled slightly before letting go of each other and Ruri got up, followed by Yuto.

"What's going on?" Yuto asked.

"We're sending groups to search for more food and supplies," Shun answered. "One to search the abandoned houses, and another to raid an Obelisk Force camp, are you in?"

"I am," Yuto said with a nod.

"So am I," Ruri replied.

Shun nodded and led the two of them to the planning room. They saw Allen working hard on a few Duel Desks so that they could finally reach out and head to other dimensions.

"Everything going well?" Yuto asked Allen.

Allen stopped his work for a few seconds to look at Yuto and nod. "A day or so and I'll be done."

Yuto nodded. "Good." and went back to the meeting.

"Yuto, Ruri, Kaito and I are the best to head out and raid the camps."

"But only four of you would be suicide," Sayaka said.

"The camp is relatively small," Kaito said, "Each of us showed that they could take on three students at the same time. And the four of us can take them by surprise instead of a bigger group, if more of us went they could easily spot us.

"I'm with Kaito on this," Shun said, "If we can raid the camp, get more supplies that we need and get rid of some of these scums then all the better."

"And that way we can take the attention of the forces while others go look for food more safely," Yuto added.

Sayaka had to sigh and conceded with a nod. "Just please be safe, everyone." The girl would pray for all of them to return, even if whatever cruel god in Heartland was listening.

Ruri placed a hand on Sayaka's shoulder, giving her a weak smile that was meant to give the other girl some encouragement. Sayako returned the smile, but couldn't help but be worried.

…

…

…

The mission went well for both parties, the Xyz Dulests had managed to get a few supplies from the camp, and got to card a few soldiers, but were forced to retreat, activating a card, blinding the Obelisk Force Students with a flash, the four of them ran away in different directions.

As Ruri ran she was stipped by three disheveled Obelisk Force students standing in her way. Their duel desks were turned on, ready to duel and destroy.

Ruri stood there with hatred and venom in her eyes, unshed tears appeared as she shook with rage and fury and activated her duel desk. Since she found out about the Parasites, each time she looked at any student from Academia she knew that her fate would not be being carded, but a much worse fate.

"Little girls like you shouldn't be walking around all alone like that," the Obelisk member with a red jewel said with a chuckle, his other two companions snickering along.

Ruri stood silently between the ruins of her home and watched as the Academia students activated their Duel Disks.

"She's just one Xyz user, one of us could probably take her out," said the one with the green jewel. There were moments when Ruri used to wonder if Academia's students had names, wants, faces, something that made them human, with time she stopped asking or wondering, all she saw were monsters, faceless, nameless, cruel, and cowardly. All there was left in her heart was hatred.

Ruri activated her Duel Desk and stood there, her tears burning away as a dark aura rose from her. The Obelisk Force students' eyes widen behind their masks, not sure what was going on.

"Go ahead then," Ruri said, her voice echoing in the empty land, her eyes becoming darker as she looked at the three enemies before her. "Show me what you three can do. Impress me."

"Why you…" The one with green jewel said between gritted teeth.

"Okay then! Once we're done with you, you'll beg us to be carded Xyz scum!" The one with a yellow jewel said.

The three students summoned their monsters one by one and swarmed Ruri with three giant ancient machine monsters. The young girl didn't look impressed, she glared at the monsters and their masters, making each want to take a step back.

"I am curious about something," Ruri said. "Do you feel fear? Cause you will soon."

In the blink of an eye, it was over, two of Ruri's monsters were able to defeat three Academia students in one turn. The three of them were flung to the wall of destroyed buildings. The ones with green and red jewels on their masks had scratch marks on their chests and shoulders courtesy of Ruri's monster.

The black-haired girl walked towards the three who cowered and tried to crawl away from her. With a flick of her wrest, three feathers appeared in her hand, throwing them at the three men on the ground, one piercing through a hand, the other an arm, and the third through a leg, making the three scream from pain.

Ruri didn't care for the screaming, she didn't enjoy it, nor did she hate it. But it felt satisfying, to cause the pain and fear that Academia had caused them back, to feel powerful over cruel bastards like these three. Ruri almost wanted to laugh' the scene felt far too familiar. She had stood over more than one Academia student, and somehow, they all appeared to be the same, as if she was facing the same person with nothing to make them truly a person worth caring about. Whatever humanity was left in them, Ruri couldn't see or care about it. Now, it was the deaths of these three or the death of another person Ruri knows, the loss of more people, the destruction of more of her beautiful home. The choice had become easier as the war continued, and without hesitation, Ruri pressed the button to card the three.

The dark aura disappeared, she expected herself to be shaking from rage or fear, but she was calm for a simple second before she became slowly aware of the cold wind, around her, of her heart beating in her ear, of feeling every muscle tense for that one single second-

"Ruri?" Ruri heard her name be called and gasped as she turned around and saw her brother looking at her with wide eyes looking… terrified.

"Shun…" she whispered.

"What was that?" Shun asked in complete shock.

"I…" Ruri started to say but didn't know where to start.

"What did I see?"

"I…"

"What did I just see Ruri?!" Shun whispered heatedly, grabbing Ruri's shoulders, looking scared out of his mind. It was a look that _rarely ever_ showed on his face.

Ruri looked away for a second before looking back at Shun. "I'll tell you everything, but we do need to get back to the refugee camp."

"Ruri, wait," Shun started, stopping her but Ruri shook her head.

"Shun, we're out here in the open and I just dueled three Obelisk Force students. Others might be coming soon, we need to take the supplies back to the camp, and we need to stay hidden."

Shun couldn't disagree. Ruri had a point; Academia Dulests might come and catch up to them soon and they didn't have enough time to argue.

The two of them reached the refugee camp, making sure no one was following them

…

…

…

"Ruri, what's going on?" Shun asked with an emotion Ruri couldn't read. She wasn't sure if it was rage or fear or a mix of many others. The two of them had returned to the camp and placed the supplies that they had taken away before regrouping with the others. After almost half an hour Shun was able to get Ruri alone and ask her what was going on.

Ruri's eyes shone with tears before closing her eyes and willing the tears away. "You saw what I did to the Obelisk Force students…"

"I did, and it's why I'm asking you this. What's going on Ruri, what… what power do you have, and where did you even get it?"

"It was a few weeks ago," Ruri answered. She was whispering, but her voice was firm. "I found myself in a dark void with four other girls with the same face as me. We were all confused and scared, two of them were a little hostile," she swallowed and let out a breath. "One of the girls, her name was Yuzu, was getting attacked by an Academia Student, the particular monster that was used to hurt one of us … awakened someone inside of us four. Ray."

"Ray?" Shun asked before remembering the certain woman from his dream that one night. "The woman with your face..." he realized.

Shun had not been sure what to think about that night or dream. He had woken up with the same card that was handed to him in his dream as if by magic. Shun had accepted it back then, not having the luxury of refusing any gift or weapon to help Heartland in the war. With time, it had slipped his mind, and his new monster had simply become something in his arsenal.

But now, seeing Ruri use something, a dark power that didn't seem her own, and with no mercy or compassion destroyed three Obelisk Force students, it disturbed him. Because Ruri, his sweet sister, had changed. They all have. Allen and Sayaka were right about that.

Shun had thought that it was the war...but what if it was that Ray, what if she was putting Ruri in danger? Driving her mad, or worse, _controlling_ her?

Destroying those Obelisk Force assholes was something Shun will never regret; he did not fault anyone in Heartland for the anger and hatred that they feel towards these monsters. But if Ray was dangerous, if it meant losing Ruri forever, then Shun couldn't handle it.

"Ruri, if she's controlling you, if she's-"

"SHE'S NOT!" Ruri screamed startling Shun. He looked at Ruri with wide eyes, surprised at the outburst.

"Ruri?" Shun whispered in a soft tone as the tears began to pour down Ruri's cheeks.

His sister gritted her teeth as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "Ray gave me an offer," Ruri continued. "She offered power to us, the four of us, to give us what we want, safely, comfort, recognition, a way to defeat the Obelisk Force and free Heartland from all this destruction and death."

"And what's the price?!"

"To bring her back, her and her lover back. Since her soul was split into four, she became us, a part of us, and we can return her into what she once was, whole again. Powerful again."

"And what about you? If you make her whole then what would happen to you? Will you be gone forever? Will we all lose you?"

"No," Ruri answered, shaking her head. "Ray promised that we will not be lost or destroyed."

"What if she was lying?! What if she wasn't telling the truth?!"

"Well at least Heartland would be safe and we're not in Akaba's hands!" Ruri screamed.

"W-what?" Shun asked, confused.

"The reason," Ruri said, shoulders shaking with rage. "The professor, the man behind this attack, his name is Leo Akaba. Ray was his daughter, and he wanted her back. This attack on us, this destruction, and all of this misery all of it! Because a miserable selfish old man couldn't let go. The people in the cards become a source of energy to power his machine, a machine made to sacrifice all four of us, to bring Ray back. We're all just cattle to the fucking _slaughter_!"

Ruri screamed, pulling at her hair. "We weren't strong enough, our dimension would have been destroyed, we would have been sacrificed with no hesitation or second thought, people would have been carded all for the wishes of one selfish man. What else could we have done?!"

Shun listened in horror at what his sister said. He didn't know how to process most of it, but what he understood was that he could lose his sister, and this deal that she made was the only thing giving them power, giving them a chance to survive this war, to maybe win it. If Ruri was really safe and acting through her own free will, then is it really that bad? If this power… this deal would save her then from a fate like the one she described then should he object to it? Should he refuse it?

Ray had already given him a weapon and helped him win and be stronger, and all she asked was to be resurrected along with… along with her lover.

"Ruri… when you said you want to resurrect her and her lover, who do you mean?"

Ruri let out a breath. "I think you know," she answered.

Shun's eyes widened again. "Yu-Yuto...Yuto would have been sacrificed too?"

"No," Ruri said, and Shun frowned in confusion. "Akaba would not have wanted to resurrect Zarc. Yuto would have been destroyed."

If Shun hadn't been afraid before of what he had heard before, he was panicking now, "Sacrifice you! And destroy _Yuto_?!"

Ruri nodded. "Ray's the only person, the one giving me the power to fight back and beat the Obelisk Forces, without her, I'm significantly weaker. I'm afraid, Shun. I'm so afraid. The things I've learned, it's just too much and I just want it all the end. I know that this seems like I'm selling my soul to the devil, I don't care how much danger I'm put in by making this deal." she said, her voice becoming tired. "Look around you Shun, our home has become hell. What else could I choose?"

"Nothing…" Shun whispered. "I can't lose you, I can't lose either of you," he said, shaking his head. "This Ray...she promises? Promises to stop the war and to keep you and Yuto safe?"

"She does," Ruri said firmly.

"And you believe her?" Shun asked.

"I do," Ruri reassured him. "I feel her anger, hatred, and love, I know in my soul that she's telling the truth; this war would end if the four of us reunited and brought her back."

Shun looked away in thought and Ruri waited anxiously until Shun locked eyes with his sister once more. "...Then let me help."

"Shun…" Ruri whispered, more surprised that her brother immediately accepted the offer.

"I can't bear the thought of losing you or Yuto. It's unthinkable, I can't. I will _not_ let that happen," Shun placed his hands on Ruri's shoulders, looking at her eyes. "I'm your big brother Ruri, I won't let anything happen to you. I'll protect you and Yuto. I promise"

Ruri's body shook with sobs before she threw herself at Shun hugging him tightly.

"You're right," Shun whispered. "Our home became hell because of Academia. I won't spare a single person affiliated with that dimension, and I won't let them take you."

"I want them all dead, especially Leo Akaba. Shun, you don't know… you don't know the half of it."

"Then tell me everything," Shun said. "And I promise to not ask any questions until you're finished."

Ruri nodded, starting from the beginning about the original dimension, the meeting she had with the other girls and Ray, needing to let Yuto and the other counterparts become closer to Zarc's mentality to obtain some of his powers, and the parasites that they had found out about recently.

With each and every sentence, Shun became more and more livid, his body shaking with fear, anger, and hatred. He could only see red in his path. Now he understood why his sister was acting strange and violent; not only were they in a war but she was dealing with all this information, the fear of being singled out, taken and sacrificed by an uncaring bastard, to be mind-controlled and losing all freedom with no way to truly protect herself except through Ray's help.

" _You're such a good brother, Shun. I'm glad one of my girls got a family to care about her."_

Shun's head snapped to Ruri, he could sense that something was completely wrong, and it happened in the blink of an eye, it made his blood run cold with fear. Ruri was being controlled, taken, he couldn't let that happen!

"Ruri!" Shun yelled before he was cut off.

" _Still here, my dear. I'm only using her to speak to you, Shun."_

"You're…" Shun whispered as he realized who this person standing in front of him was, looking at her eyes, they were different from Ruri's - they were the same eyes that _she_ had had in that dream.

" _Ray,"_ she answered with a smirk. "Yes, it's me," the girl using Ruri's body answered.

"Why…?" Shun asked.

" _I simply wish to talk to you Shun. You see, I am quite glad that Ruri has you. You have no idea how blessed she is. Some of the other girls were not as fortunate, Rin lived alone with Yugo as an orphan, and Serena was unfortunately raised by Leo Akaba. For one of my girls to have a strong brother who will do anything to protect her and his friends is something that fills me with joy. I did not expect you to still feel the same way, especially once you found out the truth."_

"The only truth I know is that Ruri is my sister, my family. Nothing will change that, nothing could make her any less important to me."

For just a moment, Ruri seemed to take back control, having a loving smile and happy tears in her purple eyes at Shun's words, before Ray came back.

"You'd make a wonderful knight Shun, truly you would. So I will make you a deal, you help us be resurrected, and you can have more power, just like your sister. What do you say?" Ray asked before placing a hand over her chest and from a small black hole, she pulled a card obscured by darkness before presenting it to Shun. "If you accept this card from me, you accept the power I give you and work for us in order for us to return. And as I promised Ruri, I promise you, the war in Heartland will be over, your dimension will go back to its former glory, and your sister will be safe. So do you accept this power that I bestow upon you, Shun?"

"You swear to me? You swear that Ruri and Yuto will stay alive, that this war would end when you return?"

Ray nodded. "I swear."

"...Then yes, I will be your agent," Shun swore, taking the card from Ray. Dark powers flowed freely from the card as Shun felt first hand the power that that card contained. It almost overwhelmed him, bringing him to his knees, flowing through his veins. As the darkness in the card settled, Shun took a good look at the monster that he was given, his hand shaking. "This is…"

"Powerful, isn't it? And she fits your deck well." Ray said with a smirk.

"Yes… she is," Shun whispered, still in awe at what had happened.

Ray placed her hand on top of Shun's, like a mother consoling her child that there were no monsters hidden in their bed. "I am confident that you will use her well. Destroy your enemies, show them no mercy, and protect what matters most, Shun."

Shun nodded. "I will."

Something new was inside him, strange and powerful. It made his body shake with it. Was this truly the power that Ray had?

Ray smirked hearing Shun's thoughts, she placed her hand under Shun's chin drawing his attention to her. "Merely a _fraction_ of my powers, my dear. Don't be afraid, it's yours now. To crush those who oppose you."

"...Thank you," Shun whispered, an unfamiliar feeling of respect and fear running through him, a rush like nothing he had felt before.

Ray smiled and the next thing Shun knew he was being hugged tightly. "Shun," Ruri whispered, tightening the hug more.

Shun smiled, wrapping his arms around his sister. He couldn't fathom or accept a world without her in it, making it brighter, making it better. Ruri, his sister should be protected at all costs, he'll never let anything happen to her or Yuto.

"It's okay, Ruri, I'm okay. We can win, we truly can, and we will."

Ruri nodded smiling at her brother tearfully. Shun kissed the top of her head, a blossoming feeling of hope grew in his chest.

"What about Yuto then?" Shun asked.

"What do you mean?" Ruri wondered tilting her head.

"Why not just… tell Yuto about this? Zarc and Ray? Don't you think that he'll join us too? If he found out about all of this?"

"It's a risk, he might not agree, he might be scared…"

"Ruri, our entire dimension would take the chance to end this war, just as the two of us did. As would Yuto. If what I'm feeling now is a fraction."

"A fraction but it is a part of her, Ray can't just give power to everyone. But you showed her that she can trust you, that you will use this power to protect Yuto and we're still only two people, with a fraction of the true power Ray and Zarc have. There are many more Academia students around, we still need the help of other dimensions, and we still need to destroy Academia and Akaba, so that they can never attack another dimension again."

Shun nodded. They worked for Ray and Zarc now, they would do as asked for their dimension and for each other. "And Yuto…"

"Yuto needs to tap into that power. To use the Darkness himself and accept Zarc's powers as his own. And there is something else."

Shun blinked. "Something else?"

Ruri nodded. "Back when Ray and Zarc were whole, four people from different times gathered together to defeat them, using Special Cards that split the two of them into four each. Each of the duelists responsible for that is in every dimension, and if they happen to remember, then they would try to stop us."

"We can't let that happen," Shun said.

"No, we can't. So for now, we should make sure that he doesn't regain those memories." Ruri agreed.

"But... Who's the duelist?" Shun asked.

…

…

…

It didn't take much to convince Ruri of telling Yuto, after all, Shun was right, if Yuto knew about it all and was on their side then their mission would be easier, Zarc and Ray would come back faster and Heartland would be saved sooner. So after they returned inside, both giving a briefing about what happened, the two of them spotted Yuto and told him to follow them, as they had something important that they wanted to tell him.

"What is this about?" Yuto asked as he followed Shun and Ruri into a secluded place. Having privacy in a world half destroyed was near impossible with most buildings destroyed, and most rooms are needed and used to let people rest and recuperate from what was happening around them.

Ruri and Shun had called him, wanting to talk to him alone. He didn't understand what the two of them could want that they wouldn't just talk to him while others were around.

Shun looked at Yuto before looking at Ruri who looked unsure and a little scared. Yuto frowned in concern. He moved closer to the siblings and placed a hand on Ruri's shoulder, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear. "Did something happen?" Yuto asked worriedly.

Ruri looked down before looking back at Yuto. "Lord Zarc, I think it's time that you introduced yourself to Yuto," she whispered.

Yuto frowned in confusion, before feeling something go through him, he pressed his hands against his head, closing his eyes shut as he fell to his knees feeling as if he was drowning. Yuto opened his eyes and gasped. He was no longer in Heartland, he stood in a palace, or rather a throne room with gold and red schemes along the walls, with windows that reached the ceiling, a crystal chandelier, and a floor that he could see his reflection in.

In front of him on a stage were two thrones made of gold, with gems and crystals embedded in them. On the right one sat a man, a man that looked far too familiar, making Yuto's heartbeat fast from fear, he could almost hear it echoing in his ears.

The Xyz user took a step back as the man stood up. He had Yuto's face, albeit he looked just a bit older than him, white-silver hair like the moon's light. Bangs that framed his face with green locks. He had golden eyes that slit like a snake's own, Yuto could have sworn that they glowed, a sharp smile and even sharper fangs. He looked at Yuto strangely, with intensity and pride, giving Yuto a strange sense of satisfaction. The man tilted his head slightly and Yuto took a step back as the person stood up from his throne. He wore a dark grey suit, with long sleeves, and a black V neck vest.

"Who… who the hell are you? Why do you look like me? And where am I?" Yuto asked, panicking a bit before standing firmly in his place. He was a soldier, he had faced several academia students and won, he can hold his ground against this stranger, no matter how strange the situation was.

The stranger took a few steps down the stage and came closer. Yuto had no idea what he should do, instinctively, he raised his arm ready to activate his Duel Desk, and demand some answers from the man, but to his horror, Yuto didn't have it attached to his arm anymore.

"Calm down Yuto," the man said gently as he kept moving forwards, and despite the strange situations and logic, Yuto found himself relaxing slightly, but keeping his guard up.

"My name is Zarc, it's a pleasure to finally, truly meet you."

Yuto blinked at the answer, not sure what to do with it, he wanted to ask more questions, but before he could say anything the man continued. "We are in your mind, well, a crafted room of our linked minds to be more accurate."

"That… doesn't explain much…" Yuto said before the man… Zarc's hand landed on his head, ruffling his hair slightly. Yuto should have wanted to move away from the man on instinct, but the overwhelming urge was not there. And Yuto had to mull over the reason why before his thoughts were intubated once more.

"Well I suppose that's true where to start, ah, yes," Zarc answered, "I suppose the beginning would be appropriate. You see, I am the original you."

Yuto swallowed audibly. "The original me?" he asked.

"Yes, long ago, there were no four dimensions as you know them now, but just one, one that encompassed all of the summoning mechanics. And I along with my beloved Ray were the strongest duelists to have ever lived. To the point of becoming like gods. We could not be beaten, and our powers grew more and more. But, some people did not like that, and decided to take our powers from us," Zarc explained, extending his hands and moving them about dramatically as he told his story.

"Four duelists with special cards created by a man named Leo Akaba tried to destroy us, and in the ensuing battle, the worlds and Ray and I were split into four, each dimension echoing the image of the timeline each duelist came from, Fusion, Synchro, Xyz and one where all the summoning methods could easily be used. Standard."

"Now, because of Leo Akaba, the man that leads Academia, Ray and I have been awakened, and he will not rest until he brings Ray back by sacrificing her counterparts, and destroy me by destroying my own."

"Ray's counterparts?" Yuto asked, his heart beating fast with fear at what he heard and at the answer echoing in his mind.

Zarc nodded, knowing who Yuto was thinking of. "Your Ruri and three others would be sacrificed without care to bring Ray back. Akaba thinks that I brainwashed her and forced her into the position she was in, it wasn't true of course, but he is adamant that once he brings her back, she'll be his perfect daughter, an image he refuses to part with, and he will not care who gets hurt along the way. Heartland is a very clear example isn't it?"

Yuto's eyes widened in shock and horror. "All this… all this for one girl? _All this for destruction and death?_ _All this pain and suffering! This entire war! For one girl?"_ He yelled, his mind unable to comprehend any of this.

" I know your anger, your hatred, I feel it as if it were my own, and I can help you, Yuto, " Zarc purred, running his finger down Yuto's chest and pointing at Yuto's heart. "Some of my powers run through you. Let me help you, let me be your guide, work to return me and Ray as one, and we will stop this senseless war, and return Heartland to the beautiful dimension it once was. Isn't that what you want the most?"

Yuto looked down but nodded his head. It was taking him a while to wrap his head around everything he had just heard. He'd almost believe that he was going insane, maybe the war was too much and he was losing his mind, he was so so afraid and unsure of what was happening, and yet… yet if what Zarc was saying was true, then there was hope, hope for his world to survive. In one breath and the next Yuto felt tears running down his cheeks, his body shaking.

"You poor boy," Zarc whispered, wiping the tears with his thumb, and cupping Yuto's cheek tenderly. "They broke you. _He_ broke you," Zarc whispered with an underlying rage and hatred in his voice, yet his touch was soft and loving as if comforting Yuto.

"They took everything from you: your home, your safety, your friends, and their families. Smiling and laughing at the destruction as if it's all a game for them. As if other people's lives were beneath their feet like dirt. And why? Because they were different? Because they were told by someone of a high authority that they _had_ to hate someone because of the cards they use? If you must hate someone, make it _personal_ at the very least."

Yuto shook with anger, gritted his teeth, and screamed with rage as memories flashed back through his mind of all the destruction and harm, of the blood that was spilled, of the screams of children and adults alike as they were imprisoned and carded.

"It's not fair, none of it is," Zarc whispered. "They should pay, shouldn't they?" the golden-eyed man asked.

Yuto nodded, his body shaking, as he clenched his hands into fists. "And you made them pay, didn't you, Phantom Knight? You showed them what it meant to be in pain, to be afraid, to lose it all. Do you regret your viciousness? Do you believe that these Fusion duelists deserved your mercy?"

"No, they didn't. They deserved _far_ worse," Yuto growled, and Zarc smirked.

"Yes, they did," Zarc agreed easily. "And you can make them _all_ pay. Pay with their _fucking lives_."

"Why...why are you telling me now?" Yuto asked, with a small shaking in his voice. Not sure why this man… Zarc was offering this to him now and not before, not when the war started.

"I haven't been awakened for long, so I wasn't able to speak to you before. And the sweet songbird decided it was time, and I trust her judgment."

"Sweet song bi- Ruri?"

"Yes, in order for my powers to truly reach you, and for you to use them, you had to use your darkness willingly. All that rage, all that anger inside you, it feeds my power. _Our_ power _._ The more you were willing to dive through that darkness, the more powerful I became until we are here, having our little conversation, and Ruri thought that you were ready to hear the truth."

Yuto placed a hand over his heart, looking a little worried. "Darkness" was never a good thing as far as any text or story was concerned, and to have it inside of you or to succumb to it meant to lose yourself. Was he… was he willing to use that? Would he drown in it? Lose himself? Lose the ones he loved?

"Do not be afraid, Yuto," Zarc whispered reassuringly. "You need this power, it's what keeps you going, what lights the fire inside you to keep on fighting. Your own Phantom Knights are a Dark Attribute, aren't they? As is Dark Rebellion. Darkness has always aided you, always been your ally."

It was true. The Phantom Knights were a brigade of soldiers who rose from the grave to fight off against those who would unleash evil and wickedness. It felt so natural to use them as if they had called for him as if he was meant to lead them to victory. The coldness of the night was always refreshing to Yuto, he had always preferred the soft light of the moon, the silver streaks of stars falling from the dark sky, the whispering of the wind, the night, the darkness. It was in his nature.

"And it seems that Ray and Ruri were able to get that friend of yours on our side too."

"Friend? You mean Shun?" Yuto asked, frowning a bit.

"Yes, he seems to know what was happening. I didn't know him before though. All I know is what I saw through your eyes. He's quite powerful and loyal."

"Yeah, I trust Shun," Yuto said firmly.

Zarc grinned, "Then I will trust your judgment, and Ray's. You all certainly vouch for him."

Yuto blinked. Shun, like him, was affected by the war too. He used to be a little laid back, used to smile and laugh and get a little awkward, but it all changed. His heart became colder, his anger rose faster and higher than before. Yuto had never truly thought of how much they all had changed until Ruri's own was brought up, everyone and everything had changed so fast, Yuto had never truly noticed or had time to think about it all. The fact that he agreed to follow this… dark power, maybe it was to protect Ruri. Shun had always been a doting brother to her, a bit overprotective, but he loved her so much, Yuto knew Shun would do anything to protect his sister, even this.

"How… how would I even bring you back?" Yuto asked.

"You have counterparts, each living in one dimension. You four need to come together in order to bring me back, the same with Ruri and her counterparts," Zarc explained.

"Then why don't you just tell the others?" Yuto questioned. "Wouldn't it have been easier to just tell them what's going on?"

"Not exactly," Zarc with a sad shake of his head. "As I said, you, my dear were ready. The anger and hatred in your heart gave way to darkness and my power and voice to reach you. Your Standard and Synchro counterparts, Yuya and Yugo respectively, are only able to hear my voice so far."

"And my counterpart from the Fusion Dimension?" Yuto asked, not trusting anyone from Academia, even if they were a part of him or something. All he could feel was loathing and hatred towards anyone from that dimension, for _anyone_ who used Fusion.

"Yuri has… his own agenda, you don't have to worry about him," Zarc answered with a smile. Yuto looked away, still uneasy about him, and Zarc decided not to push, verbally that is. "So what do you say, Little Phantom. Do you accept my offer?" Zarc asked, raising an eyebrow and extending his hand. "My power and my help to destroy Academia and the man responsible for this war, for my and my beloved's return."

Yuto looked up at Zarc with a determined look in his eyes, taking Zarc's hand in his. "Yes," Yuto accepted. "I'll do it. I'll do anything if it means that this ends, and we survive, that all of Academia would pay for what they did to us.."

Zarc smirked. "Good boy~ Here you go then," he whispered.

Black flames traveled down from Zarc's arm and through Yuto's own, licking his skin softly, lovingly. A dark aura surrounded Yuto completely, rising up and filling the grey-eyed boy with so much power that he had never felt before. Intense as a thunderstorm and filled with the rage of a monsoon. His grey eyes glowed before they changed into a pure silver hue as if they were filled with purple lights shining like the stars. Yuto screamed, powerful and loud, a scream that reminded him of Dark Rebellion's roars. His skin felt on fire, as if after an intense duel. He could feel his fingers crack slightly, his nails growing, his heart beating like thunder that drowned out everything else.

Yuto couldn't help but gasp and fall to his knees in front of Zarc. This was intense, more intense than the rush he felt beating an Academia soldier to the ground.

"I take it that you found it to be satisfying?" Zarc said with a purr.

Yuto was shaking, but for the first time since the war had started, it wasn't from rage or fear. His body was humming with power, his mind working a mile a minute trying to catch up to the intense almost suffocating feeling.

The silver-eyed boy gasped a few times before a manic grin spread through his lips and he began to laugh. "Wh...what-" Yuto kept gasping. He hadn't expected this level of power, every part of him didn't believe that it was real. He had felt nothing like this before as if a lost part of him was returned, something he never even knew that he lost. A fragment of his soul, perhaps?

Yuto climbed to his feet, and Zarc placed a hand on his shoulder to keep Yuto from falling again. The hand felt so warm and inviting, a simple touch now brought Yuto comfort and reassurance, his own soul in resonance with Zarc's own.

"That's it, I got you," Zarc said with a soft and gentle e smile like a father helping their child when they try to skate or bike for the first time. "Now, any questions?"

"Just one. What exactly do my counterparts look like?"

"You'll know when you'll see them. Even now, you can sense them. A pull in your soul, wishing to fill in that void before it completely tears you apart from the inside."

"Can you at least tell me what they're like?"

"Oh I could spin yarns about how Yuya Sakaki just loves to entertain people, wanting everyone watching him hold their breaths as he-"

"Yuya Sa…Sakaki?" Yuto gasped.

"Oh? You know that name?" Zarc asked with a curious voice.

Yuto nodded. "Yusho Sakaki arrived here about three years ago. We didn't know where he came from, he just said he was in the wrong place but try as he might he couldn't leave, so he kind of stayed here for a while, dueling and teaching everyone about Dueltaining. He was a good man but… we don't know where he is anymore, he just disappeared. He never said that he had a family back where he came from..."

"Hmm...that might help you endear yourself to Yuya. I can sense Yuya's pain and suffering; for three years he has had to deal with his father's sudden disappearance and to be ridiculed as the 'son of a coward'.

"I see...Yuya, the one from Standard," Yuto clarified.

"Yes, and Yuri from Fusion, those are the ones that you could meet in Standard. You can't miss them; just find the boys who look like your reflection. The moment you meet, there will be a bond forged and your soul will feel more and more complete. I suggest going to meet Yuri first. He may be a bit teasing and playful, but you can trust him."

Yuto sighed. The idea of allying with a Fusion Duelist still made his skin crawl, but he had a job to do, an end of the bargain that he had to fulfill. So if he could, he'd try to tolerate Yuri _._

"Just one question...does this Yuri have his own personal dragon?"

"What gave you that idea?" Zarc asked with a chuckle.

"Dark Rebellion seems lonely sometimes, he would roar as if calling to someone. He's an _Xyz_ Dragon so I thought my other counterparts must have a special dragon for that dimension's summoning method. So Yuri has a Fusion Dragon, Yugo has a Synchro Dragon and Yuya has a…."

Zarc grinned. "I'll keep that a surprise. Trust me, you'll find it to be quite a game-changer," he answered ruffling Yuto's hair, making the goggles slide down Yuto's face.

"And the one from Synchro?" Yuto asked, readjusting the goggles.

"Yugo is… a very sweet boy, with a big heart, but he is quick to anger and to come to conclusions, not very willing to listen to strangers. But he is willing to do anything for his girl, Rin."

"Ruri's counterpart?" Yuto asked.

"Yes," Zarc answered. "Rin, Yuzu, and Serena, Ruri's counterparts. You can trust them impeccably."

"Which one...uses Fusion?" Yuto asked

"Hmm, well I think Ray has been training all of them to use all Summoning Methods," Zarc replied.

"E...even Ruri?" Yuto questioned. He didn't believe that Ruri had it in her to use fusion at all, and he wasn't sure how he felt about it.

"I think they were taught the basics, but whether they use Fusion or not I'm not sure. I've only seen two of the girls use it so far. Serena and Yuzu, from Fusion and Standard."

Yuto nodded. So he just needed to find two girls who had Ruri's face and at least learn how to tolerate Fusion if it could be used for good.

"Oh that reminds me, I also have a gift for you," Zarc said.

"A...gift?" Yuto asked.

"Yes," Zarc answered before handing Yuto three cards that just appeared from the shadows themselves.

Yuto's eyes widened when he took the cards into his hand, seeing their art and sensing how powerful they were. "Th...those…"

"I'll give you more soon, I promise, for now, these are yours… oh, and a copy of this for your Shun," Zarc said. One of the cards in Yuto's hand glowed and was replicated. Now there were three powerful Xyz monsters in Yuto's hand.

Zarc smiled and placed his hand on Yuto's shoulder. "Unleash your rage, Phantom mine. And be very careful when you use these cards. After all, not every ally of yours will be one of mine. Cards that just randomly appear out of nowhere? That will draw suspicions."

Yuto nodded. "Of course, I understand."

"Good. There are things I have not told you yet, but I believe Ruri can fill you in about them," Zarc whispered with a smile. "Go now, it's time to return." Darkness took Yuto's vision, and he felt himself fall, before a gust of wind raised him up into a dim light. "Good luck, my herald," Yuto heard Zarc whisper in his ear.

" _Yuto? Yuto?"_ he heard Ruri's voice calling.

…

…

…

"Yuto!" Ruri cried. "Yuto, are you all right?"

His eyes fluttered open and he found himself looking up at the two worried faces of his two best friends. He heard Ruri gasp, and Shun's eyes widened in confusion as Yuto opened his eyes, but he wasn't sure why.

The silver-eyed boy smiled and tried to set up, and Ruri helped him, placing her hand on his back, making Yuto lean to her touch like he always did.

"Are you okay Yuto?" Shun asked, worriedly.

Yuto looked up at Shun and smirked sharply. "I'm perfect," he whispered, before turning to Ruri and running his knuckles down her beautiful face, tucking a lock behind her ear, wanting to place a thousand kisses on her face.

"And Lord Zarc…" Ruri started.

"Told me many things," Yuto replied, as the three of them stood up. The silver-eyed boy took a breath, feeling the cold air fill his lungs. He felt so much lighter, stronger, as if he could fly, weightless and ready to strike down from the heavens. For once since the war started, he could smile easily. The color faded from his eyes and the silvery irises returned to the usual stormy grey.

"He told me what we should do, and who to look for in Standard. He promised me to stop this war, to give us the power needed to return Heartland to what it once was."

"We're all on the same page then," Shun said with a grin.

"Mostly. Lord Zarc told me that there were things I don't know yet, but you could fill me in," Yuto explained.

Ruri nodded with a soft smile on her face, before running her hand through Yuto's hair affectionately.

"Oh which reminds me, he gave me a few gifts too. One for you Shun," Yuto said, flicking his hand as if doing a sleight of hand trick Yusho usually did when he dueled and presenting Shun with a card.

"Me?" Shun asked, blinking. He hadn't expected anything from Lord Zarc; he had already agreed to work for him and Ray, he'd thought the Card he was given was all he was going to get for now.

"Yes, he is grateful that you're standing by our side, as am I," Yuto purred. "And this is yours," the silver-eyed boy presented Shun with the card. The older boy took it without hesitation, and just like Ray's gift before it, pure power ran through him, taking his breath away, running through his veins.

Yuto wrapped his arm around Ruri's waist and pressed her closer, placing a kiss on top of her head and resting his chin tenderly on top of her head. He placed his hand on Shun's shoulder, the movement brought the Raidraptors duelists' attention to the two of them. His sister had a happy smile, after all these days she seemed to finally feel safe with the three of them together, relaxed, with a truly happy smile on her lips. Yuto gave him a confident grin, and Shun mirrored it. The three of them were ready to burn Academia to the ground and run through its ashes.

The cold winds blew through the night, howling away through the empty homes, the camps, and streets as if Heartland itself was getting ready to strike back, harder and stronger than before. And Zarc and Ray watched with pride and anticipation for the massacre that was about to happen.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Sayaka was the first to notice the change. It was subtle so she didn't think anyone had caught on to it, but she saw it; Ruri's smile. It was soft and small, yet it was true with no hint of being strained or fake. Her shoulders that were constantly raised and tense looked more relaxed, her eyes that seemed dead at times sparkled with life and hope.

Moreover, Yuto's body language shifted as well, easily leaning more to Ruri's space or even Shun's. He would place his hand on Ruri's cheek without a hint of shyness, running his knuckles down her face.

More importantly, Shun, Yuto, and Ruri moved and spoke with a strange union and synchronicity that wasn't that intense before, with one look Yuto or Ruri would communicate an order or a request and the other two would understand and act accordingly.

It was too natural that it made Sayaka uneasy. However she didn't say anything, what could she do? The very fact that Yuto, Shun, and Ruri have been successful more than usual to drive back Academia's students meant that whatever that was between them made them better. It made them stronger, and despite her fears and uneasiness at the strangeness of it all, she couldn't help but be grateful for it.

For now, she could look past her unease and hope that when everything would be over, that the three of them would go back to being normal.

…

…

…

"Are you sure you can handle this without us?" Yuto asked Kaito, as he placed the new Duel Desk on his arm, placing his deck and Extra Deck in the right slots.

"Yeah, we can hold them back until you come back with reinforcements, or at the very least hide everyone until you do return," Kaito answered.

"We'll be back as soon as we can," Yuto promised, and Kaito nodded, placing his faith in the three of them. Despite everything, all of them were worried, even Yuto, Shun and Ruri. They were about to leave their homes to go to a strange land, where hopefully they will get the help and reinforcements that they need in time. But things could always go wrong, they could return too late. They couldn't afford to mess up, couldn't afford to lose. They were all scared and determined to do what they could, no matter the cost.

Shun placed his hand on Kaito's shoulder and squeezed it, both exchanging a look and nodded. No words were needed. They were all on the same mission. Even if they were in different places of execution, none of them would hold back against the enemy, and they would protect what's important to them.

…

…

...

Ruri hugged Sayaka and a few of the girls and small children as she said goodbye. It was painful, leaving her home, her loved ones and comrades, despite Heartland being soaked with blood, it was still home to her, and she wouldn't be able to defend it herself. But she had to do it. Ruri took a deep breath as she walked to the planning room.

She stopped as she saw one particular kid that was waiting outside of the room, with light blue hair and eyes. Ruri smiled softly at the kid as she moved closer and placed her hand on top of his head.

"Haruto," Ruri said with a smile, and the kid spread his arms and wrapped them around her waist.

"I don't want you guys to go," he blubbered, fat tears in his eyes and Ruri could hear his whimpers clearly.

"I'm sorry, but we have to," she whispered to him and pulled him closer, hugging him tightly, before moving him a step back and kneeling in front of him, giving him an encouraging smile. "We'll be back with help I promise, we'll try to not be too long. And when we're back, this nightmare will be over, okay?"

Haruto still had tears in his eyes but nodded.

"You're a brave and strong kid Haruto, we're all so proud of you," Ruri whispered, patting Haruto's head. "Can you do me a favor then? Can you watch out for your big brother for us? Make sure Kaito's fine and doesn't work himself until he collapses okay?"

"O-okay," Haruto sniffed, and looked at Ruri with a determined look, wiping the tears with the back of his arm.

Ruri smiled and hugged Harouto once more. "I'll see you soon kiddo," she said before opening the door and entering the room. "Are we ready?" she asked.

"Just about," Allen answered before handing Ruri her own modified Duel Desk. "There."

The black-haired girl nodded and removed her deck and Extra Deck and placed them in the new Duel Disk just as Yuto and Shun before her.

"Good luck," Kaito said.

"You too," Shun replied.

"Please, stay safe," Ruri begged.

The three Xyz duelists wrapped their red scarves around their shoulders, Yuto placed his mask on his face, and lowered his goggles down, as Ruri lowered her own. The three of them needed to look for Yuto's and Ruri's own reflections, as well as find the highest authority in Standard in order to ask for help. It was a tall order, but they had to fulfill it, for Heartland, for everyone in their dimension, to survive, to be saved, they had to succeed.

The three of them pressed a few buttons and with a blinding light, they were gone.


	14. The Day Before The Duel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I'm not dead! Neither is this story. I honestly did begin this chapter after writing the last one, but I had a lot of exams and essays for my University classes that I had to deal with and just couldn't finish the chapter quickly with some of the writer's block, and practically having no partner in writing anymore. But I'm back now, and hopefully I can update at my usual schedule.
> 
> Green_Phantom_Queen is also having shit time since there is now a Military Coup in Myanmar, there is a lot of insane details and protests, wish her safety and do what you can to spread the news, I personally have no idea what else to do.
> 
> Hope you enjoy this chapter guys.

Rin typed on the keyboard of a laptop as she sat on the small couch in what can be called a living room. She seemed intensely focused on whatever task she had at hand, not paying attention to what was around her, sipping a hot cocoa drink from a cup every once in a while.

She had placed her deck away from her work so that nothing would happen to it accidentally, placing it in a small wooden box, and keeping it, and her monsters away from her for now. As much as she loved her deck, she didn't want to get distracted from reprogramming that laptop.

To her dismay, however, Freya was running around the small apartment being a playful distraction, walking on the edges of the couch and lying on top of Rin, or on one of the D-wheels. The cat probably sensed her stress and was trying to cheer her up or get her mind off of whatever it was that distressed Rin. Windwitches were playful monsters; they would not have liked to see Rin nervous and their selection would probably be some little pranks to make her smile.

The day of the final duel in the tournament was coming, and to say Rin was nervous was an understatement. She and Yugo had trained hard until they knew all the new additions to their decks in and out, more than that she could sense that Yuzu and Serena were in the same dimension now, and she knew Ruri was going to join them soon. She, on the other hand, was stuck in Neo-Domino for who knows how long. She wanted to join them too, to finally meet them face to face, to reunite, but she had no way out of the damn dimension, and still hadn't told Yugo about what had been really going on. So thanks to all of that, Rin was going stir crazy at the moment, and another duel would probably stress her out. Luckily for her, one of her neighbors had malfunctions in their laptop and asked Rin to look it over.

Rin had taught herself to program by reading books from the library any chance she got so that she and Yugo could build their D-wheels. Now every once in a while she would fix a laptop, or look over something for the neighbors and get some money out of it. She was good, and her prices were relatively cheap for what shop owners would usually ask for, so others from the commons, especially kids would ask her for help or ask Yugo to fix a toy or a bike.

Yugo left the bathroom drying his wet hair before sliding the towel down his neck, noticing Rin working on the laptop and Freya asleep beside her. He gave a small sigh and smiled before walking to the couch and sitting on Rin's other side. Wordlessly and without even taking her eyes off of the screen, Rin leaned against Yugo. The boy wrapped his arm around her and gave her a kiss on her cheek, then started running his hand through her apple green hair.

"You know if you keep working this hard you're gonna have bags under your eyes, and you won't be as cute," Yugo said with a laugh. He had been feeling the tension in Rin for a while and wanted to take the edge off, so he attempted the joke, before immediately regretting his words.

Rin silently fixed him with a cold glare that sent chills down his spine and goosebumps over his arm. Her look scared him half to death. Freya opened one eye curiously watching the two, hoping for some mischief.

"J-joking, I'm joking I swear!" Yugo yelled as goosebumps rose over his skin, trying to save himself from Rin's wrath.

Rin gave a sigh but didn't say more, she silently went back to working on the laptop in her hand.

"Eh…?" Yugo blinked at the reaction and tilted his head. "You're really stressed aren't you?" Yugo asked. "Well maybe if you told me that you were gonna be in that tournament before then we could have entered together, and you wouldn't be in this situation," Yugo scolded with a small frown.

"Yeah...maybe," Rin answered slowly. "Sorry, I just… really thought it was for the best, not sure why."

Yugo frowned in concern "Rin…"

Rin sat straighter and placed the laptop on the table before turning to Yugo and placing a kiss on his lips, the crystal-eyed boy blinked a few times before closing his eyes and returning the kiss, pulling Rin closer towards him, and running his hand down her bare arm. Rin pressed herself closer to Yugo and wrapped her arms around his neck, threading her fingers through the slightly damp hair.

The kiss was slow and sweet, Yugo tilted his head slightly deepening it. Rin moaned as Yugo gave a content sigh, running his thumb down Rin's soft cheek.

"You know, all I want is to stay with you forever, and I'll always be happy," Yugo whispered against Rin's lips as he broke the kiss.

The green-haired girl smiled softly at Yugo's sweet words, she knew, she felt the same, all she wanted was to have a better life for the both of them. "Me too," she whispered back.

"So no matter what happens Rin," Yugo said with a grin. "Win or lose this tournament or the Friendship Cup, we'll be together, we'll survive another day. So don't worry too much okay? You're one of the strongest duelists I know, and you'll be magnificent in the tournament."

Rin chuckled. "You can be really smart sometimes," she said with a teasing smile.

Yugo pouted. "Huh? What do you mean 'sometimes'" he asked, a little indignant.

Rin's smile was softer as she placed her hand on Yugo's cheek making him relax before Rin placed another soft kiss on his lips. "You're the best thing in my life, Yugo," she whispered, making Yugo blush as he inhaled sharply at her words.

Rin grabbed the laptop once more and leaned back on Yugo. The blue-eyed boy smiled, and leaned down, placing a few butterfly kiss on Rin's shoulder and the back of her neck, basking in her presence for a while as she returned to her work much more relaxed than she had been in the last few days, and she started to hum under her breath.

Freya mewed and jumped down before landing on Yugo's shoulders, her tail waving lazily. Before long the green-haired duelist was done, she closed the laptop and placed it back on the table before sending a text and getting a reply.

Rin stood up and got the cup that she was drinking from before placing it in the sink and washing it immediately.

Yugo stood up, with Freya still on his shoulders as he leaned against the kitchen wall. "So how about a ride today? Maybe we can go see Aki before your big duel."

"Hmm, that does sound fun," Rin said, drying her hand with a towel as she turned back to look at Yugo and walked towards him. Yugo grinned before Rin pressed herself to him and placed a soft kiss on his lips. "Let's change then, Faith will be here in five minutes we can go after that," she was wearing a white tank top and some green short shorts after all. Her hind sliding down Yugo's face as she moved away. In a split second, the white kitten jumped from Yugo's shoulders to Rin's, and the Windwitch duelist smiled as Freya tried nuzzling her, Rin petted the kitten which made her purr happily.

"Sounds good," Yugo said with a big grin and a faint blush on his face. No matter how many times Rin kissed him, he still felt his heart flutter and beat a little faster.

Rin opened the door of her room and closed it behind her with a sweet happy smile, her cheeks a little red too, it embarrassed her a little bit to admit kissing Yugo made her heart flutter happily, despite the fact that she instigated these moments herself, the do still affect her each time, she never let Yugo see it though, maybe soon.

She gave a sigh as she took her tank top off and threw it on her bed malling over what she could be doing more; Rin knew that she had her task to complete, to make Yugo more susceptible to the darkness in his heart, but it wasn, there was no way that she would hurt Yugo or let harm come to her, or pretend that she was in actual danger if she wasn't, her pride would not let her.

And she couldn't possibly make Yugo angry at her or hate her, there was no way that she could ever hurt him like that, not now, not ever. Rin shuddered remembering the Parasites that she was told about, it made her wanna puke and scrub herself clean all over again, these things… they might have forced her to do something to Yugo she would never have and it made her hate these people, even more, she had never met them but she would happily impale them on a spike of ice herself.

Her eyes narrowed, she would have happily impaled the bastard Frank on a spike of ice if she wasn't surrounded by people, her skin began to crawl as she remembered how he had slithered into her mind and walked its halls as if he owned it, if it weren't for Yugo, for Zarc… who knew what would have happened.

She took a deep breath and gave a sigh, at least she was right about part of Zarc coming through lust. Her new riding outfit, her choice of colors on her clothes got Yugo's attention just fine, his eyes would even slit at times looking at her working, even if he pretended that he wasn't looking. She found it flattering and adorable.

She smiled softly, ever since the two had met when they were toddlers, Rin had always loved Yugo, they had become best friends immediately, attached to the hip. Ever since she had seen him, she knew that she wanted Yugo for herself, and Yugo, hot-headed, and silly and brave and funny, wanted her just as much. There was nothing that the two of them wouldn't do for the other, so she needed to do this, to make sure that neither of them would live in poverty again, to have everything that they want or need available to them without the need to worry ever again.

Rin changed in two minutes, slipping her new black and green riding outfit on, it felt like a second skin to her now, it was light on her body, and soft to the touch, making her movement freer than her last one. She didn't really buy like she had told Yugo, it was actually a gift from Ray, by transforming her old one to this, and honestly? How could she say no to something that amazing?

Rin grabbed the wooden box and removed her deck and Extra Deck from there and placed them in their slots on her Duel Desk. The green-haired witch opened the door and saw that Yugo was done changing as well from his yellow T-shirt and blue shorts, and was in his riding outfit. Rin looked up and down at Yugo, whose eyes had again gone to slits for a split second when he saw her.

"Hmm, we should probably wash that outfit," Rin said, placing her hands on Yugo's shoulders and rubbing his arms, looking at the somewhat dirty outfit. Rin took a step back to take a better look.

Yugo looked down at his dueling outfit and he had to agree with Rin, as the outfit was turning more brown than white from all the road dirt and from hitting the ground each time they got a hit in a duel to the point that the outfit might tear soon. "Yeah, it does need some cleaning huh?" Yugo asked with a sigh.

"Yeah, that or we buy you a new one," Rin said, smiling and wrapping her hands around Yugo's shoulders, she felt Yugo's arms around her waist.

"Aren't we spending too much money already?" Yugo asked a little worried about how much they've been spending lately. Rin would normally be more strict with the money than him, so it usually would not have bothered him if the amber eyed girl would decide to give herself something nice once in a while, -she always loved sparkly things,- or buying them some sweets that they both just love eating. It might also be the fact that Akiza had bought them new clothes and let them have the fanciest dinner that they've had in their lives. Even now there was a twinge of guilt in the back of Yugo's mind, worried about paying Akiza back for her kindness.

"Now you let me worry about that, okay?" Rin reassured him with a soft smile, patting his cheek lovingly.

Yugo blushed and mirrored her smile. "Feels like I should be the one giving you nice things, not the other way around. I just wanna spoil you so much. I wanna give you the world, Rin."

Rin's smile widened, and a faint blush appeared on her cheeks before shaking her head to get rid of it. Before she could respond there was a knock on the door.

"Coming!" Rin called giving Yugo one more smile before taking the laptop and its battery in her hand and heading for the door. Opening it and giving a smirk to the girl standing in front of her. "Hey Faith," Rin greeted.

The girl in front of her had long straight black hair that reached her back, brown eyes, and a beauty mark under her right eye.

"Hey, Frost. That was fast," the girl, Faith said, gesturing to the laptop in Rin's hand, then looking at her up and down. "Nice outfit."

"Thanks, and well, I had nothing else to do," Rin answered with a shrug.

"Yeah, nothing but make out with that hot boyfriend of yours huh?" Faith asked with a smirk.

Rin snorted, mirroring Faith's smirk. "Well, you can't blame me can ya?"

"Nah, though half of us in the neighborhood are just glad you two stopped dancing around each other like you used to. Pretty sure Hatori's collecting some bets too."

"Bastards," Rin said with an eye roll. Faith and Hatori were kids from the neighborhood around Rin and Yugo's age, they dueled from time to time and hang out every once in a while along with a few others, messing with security or pickpocketing, cause, hey, when you're an orphan and the odds are stacked against you, you can't really afford to be morally picky. After she and Yugo decided to try for the Friendship Cup they became too busy to hang out with the others like they used to, but there were no hard feelings among them, it was something Rin and Yugo had decided and no one could talk them out of it.

"Ain't got anything better to do around here," the black-haired girl shrugged.

"Yeah, bullshit," Rin answered, handing Faith her laptop. Faith took it with a chuckle before reaching into her pocket and giving Rin some money for her troubles.

"You have fun then," Faith said, turning around before stopping and looking back at Rin from over her shoulder. "Oh, and by the way, good luck tomorrow."

Rin gave her a grateful smile. "Thanks. Oh, and when you see Hatori tell him the next time I see him, I'll be freezing his ass five ways to Sunday he wouldn't be able to sit again," she said with a grin and a malicious look in her eyes.

"Roger that," Faith said and walked away, giving Rin a salute.

The green-haired girl watched her leave as Yugo came from behind her and pressed himself against her back, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Ready now?" Yugo asked.

Rin gave a small chuckle and nodded. "Yeah, let's head out," she answered as they got their D-wheels out and got on them. "Race ya!" Rin said putting her helmet on and lowering her visor, before revving her engine and flying through the streets.

"Hey!" Yugo screamed with a laugh as he revived his engines as well, catching up to Rin quickly.

* * *

Grady watched the transaction transpire between the two girls confused. The black-haired man had been following Rin and Yugo for a while to make sure that they didn't have any more contact with The Arcadia movement. Thinking about it, he probably couldn't stop them if they did decide to do so, but it paid to be prepared or at least aware of it.

The exchange was confusing at best, and as he couldn't follow the two of them without raising more suspicion, both Rin and Yugo would sometimes freeze and start looking around them as if they sensed that they were being watched.

It wouldn't do well for Grady to get caught by either of them, he didn't think they'd appreciate him meddling in their private affairs, and at this point, he was sure being on Rin's bad side would be a death sentence. After all, he did have to admit to himself, he was nowhere near as skilled as the two are, and they could probably kick his ass in and out of a duel, they were some tough fourteen-year-olds for sure. And that's not even mentioning the psychic crap both of them seemed to have.

Grady did try to speak to a few people and ask if Rin or Yugo had had any Psychic abilities before, but he had to be careful so that word wouldn't reach Rin or Yugo's ears, that was why he hardly got any information about either of them.

As the two of them drove away, Grady headed to Bootleg which had become the unofficial meeting place for their…gang. (He would not indulge in Randsborg's insistence that they were "Crusaders").

The place was mostly empty, considering it was practically noon, only a few people passed out or drinking with a few others. Grady noticed Armstrong sitting on one of the tables with Yanagi and Randsborgh with several papers and what looked like actual scrolls! Grady gave a sigh and went to sit beside the three men.

"You're here early," Armstrong grumbled.

"Yeah, the two left their house. Watching them is becoming harder with them almost constantly heading out on their D-wheels. And I have the feeling that they're sensing that something is off," Grady said before pulling a chair and sitting down. "You think Carly was able to get to Izinski?"

"Honestly? Fat chance," Armstrong answered. "The guy is rich, and under too much security; if Carly so much as comes near him, she'd be kicked out before she can even breathe out a word."

Grady sighed. "Well the final duel is tomorrow, and we basically have more questions than answers."

"Worry not, Valiant Grady!" said Randsburg. "For the truth shall come towards the light soon enough. Be patient, for 'tis in duels that the soul is bared to those who behold it."

"... Right…" Grady replied.

A few seconds later Carly entered the bar with a tired look on her face. From the looks of it, she seemed like she stayed up all night.

"Oh She of Fair Eyes, hello!" Randsbrogh greeted her, and Yanagi waved before going back to reading some of the scrolls.

"So how was it?" Grady asked as Carly slumped in her seat.

"Awful, I can't get anywhere _near_ the guy or his wife without his security team trying to kick me out. Some asshat even twisted my arm until it almost broke!" Carly groaned. "Not even mentioning Akiza's name was enough to convince me. He seemed to be quite shaken about it."

"Well better luck next time," Grady said, as his order of milk came, and he took a sip of it.

"I just need to find a way around these guys," Carly said with determination.

"You're actually gonna try _again_?" Grady questioned incredulously.

"Oh please. We're trying to bring down an entire organization and expose their secrets. Hounding a politician without actual powers is not gonna be that hard to get to, I only need an opportunity," Carly said, crossing her arms.

Grady sighed but he knew that there was no stopping Carly when she set her mind on something. This is the same girl who got her boss fired and got further in beating Akiza than he did. "So what is this meeting about exactly?" he asked, looking at Armstrong for answers.

"These two were the ones who called the meeting," Armstrong answered, pointing with his thumb at Yanagi and Randsburg.

"About what?" Grady asked, looking at the two older men.

"We'll recite what we have found after all this time, once the last two members of this party arrived," Ransborgh said.

"What?" Grady blinked in confusion.

"Who else is coming?" Carly asked.

Before Yanagi or Randsborg could answer, the sound of engines got louder outside the bar, before stopping. Everyone's eyes turned to the door of the bar as two familiar figures walked in. A blond young man with blue eyes, with white and blue outfit a white coat that reached the ground, and a younger person with black hair and yellow locks spiked to the side.

"Oh no, it's Hell's Harbinger!" Someone sober whispered in terror and awe.

"And the Stardust Crusader….The King of Neo-Domino is here," another person whispered, wondering why the two Enforcers would have business here...and would rather not want to be on their bad sides.

There was a sound of glass breaking, Jack's eyes snapped to the bar only to see that the bartender had only dropped a glass from shock, and was busy picking up the broken pieces.

"Well, well, well, The King of Neo-Domino himself, and the White Prince, in a bar like this," Armstrong said with a laugh, making Carly nudge him with her elbow to shut up. They probably shouldn't offend the strongest people in Neo Domino.

"We could have met at your place," Carly brought up.

"Yes, but we all agreed that our _king_ needed a bit of fresh air, and to not be cooped up in his room all day," Jack said, giving a pointed look to Yusei, who Grady noticed became a bit flustered at being called "King" by Jack.

Yusei rolled his eyes. "You said you had new information to tell us," he said. The two Enforcers sat beside the other, almost naturally Jack Atlas' arm stretched over Yusei's shoulders as the two got comfortable. Carly looked at them, recalling what Kiryu said about the Enforcers _all_ being together, and had to cover the blush on her face.

Before anyone could start talking Jack gestured for the bartender.

"...Are you two even legal?" Armstrong asked, raising an eyebrow.

"And who's gonna dare defy the Lords of Neo Domino?" Jack asked with a raised eyebrow, making Armstrong grumble.

"Cut it out, Jack," Yusei said, glaring playfully at his boyfriend, who gave Yusei a smirk of his own. Yusei just asked for water when the waiter arrived.

"We do indeed have new information," Randsbrogh injected. "However, they are not much. I finally found where I've heard that strange name, that the Witch of Winter all but prayed to."

"A strange name?" Yusei asked, confused. "What are you talking about? I thought this was about our Signer Marks."

"Yes indeed that was part of our research, but that battle with Frank had presented many mysteries and not only about the Crimson Dragon," Randsborg said. "Back when the Witch of Winter -"

"Her name is Rin," Carly elaborated, showing off a picture of the green-haired Windwitch duelist on her phone.

"Indeed," Randsborg continued. "When she dueled this so-called professor Frank, she uttered a name that sounded vaguely familiar. Zarc."

"Zarc?" Jack asked, narrowing his eyes in confusion.

"Why is that name so important?" Yusei asked. "For all we know, it's someone that means something personal to her."

"Indeed, it could have, however, due to the… nature of the situation that she called his name, and that it sounded familiar I decided to look into it."

"We did find something about him, but it is not much," Yanagi added, showing off a scroll.

"What exactly did you find out?" Jack asked.

"We found out that Zarc was mentioned as someone that was vanquished with the help of one of the signers, the name seemed as if it was scorched into the scroll itself," Ransbrogh explained, "Before it were such names as Z-one, the Earthbound Immortals and many more."

Carly tilted her head at the name 'Earthbound Immortals'

"So this Zarc is bad news? And the Signers before us defeated him?" Yusei questioned.

"It seemed so indeed," Randsborg nodded.

"There's more though," Yangi continued.

"More?" Grady asked.

"Whoever or whatever Zarc was, he was not alone," Yanagi continued, whispering so that only their small group could hear. "He had someone else by his side, a powerful lady."

"Powerful lady huh? Let me guess, a witch," Armstrong said, rolling his eyes.

"Nay," replied the knight. "A Siren."

"Siren? That's new," Carly blinked.

"Yeah, you'd think with Rin mentioning him that he'd be assisted by a witch or something," Grady mused.

Yusei's eyes narrowed in thought. "Something's not right, it's as if… pieces of a puzzle are still missing."

"What else did you find?" Jack asked.

"Nothing. It is merely a mention, but not _where_ he came from or when, even the name of the Siren is not mentioned," Randsborg replied.

Yanagi spoke next, "Our best guess is that she is his herald, maybe a servant or a..."

"A partner?" Yusei suggested.

"Yes, it could be," Randsborg replied with a nod.

"If this Zarc was beaten by the previous Signers then why was his name mentioned? And how did this girl know about him?"

"Maybe she doesn't, not fully," Grady said, folding his arms over his chest. "You guys found his name on some old scroll, for all we know. Rin could have read it off a book or something, and it could've been a coincidence that she spoke his name."

"No, I don't think that that adds up," Carly pointed out. "Rin has psychic powers, borderline _magical_. It couldn't have just been a coincidence."

"Maybe you should do more research, I'll try to do what I can to help," Yusei said.

"Oh, does that mean that you're gonna let someone _else_ take some load off of your duties?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow, making Yusei sigh.

"Jack-"

"No, don't use that tone with me Yusei. We've talked about this," Jack said, alluding to the many times that the other Enforcers had to pry paperwork from Yusei's hands, or remove him from the computer screen, or even preventing him from pulling _another_ all-nighter working on their D-Wheels.

Yusei sighed. "Can we at least talk about this at home?"

"Of course, and I'll have Crow and Kallen back me up," Jack said matter of factly making Yusei groan.

"We'll keep checking in with each other until then, if you find anything else let us know," Yusei said, looking at the Crusaders.

"Of course your majesty," Randsborgh said with a bow. "This is a great development for all of us! Every day we are obtaining more and more information. But we must be careful; we must hone our skills and our decks for the day we shall go into battle!"

…

…

…

After some more exchange of information, Jack and Yusei left the bar and headed to their D-wheels. The black-haired young man turned to his boyfriend, and placed his hand over Jack's arm "What's wrong?" Yusei asked, having noticed Jack's reaction to the name.

"Hmm?" Jack asked, looking back at Yusei.

"You had a weird look on your face when these guys mentioned the name Zarc. You heard it before?" Yusei asked, raising his eyebrow.

"... I don't think so," Jack replied. "But I can't be sure," he shook his head looking into Yusei's eyes.

"Alright, we'll figure this out," Yusei said before placing a kiss on Jack's lips, which the older boy returned. "How about we take a ride around the city before we get home. Race you like old times," he said with a mischievous smirk.

Jack laughed. "Alright, but be ready to lose your majesty."

"Oh? Is that so?" Yusei replied with a mischievous spark in his eyes.

"Oh, indeed," Jack said, taking a step forward and kissing Yusei again, making the younger man laugh into the kiss.

Yusei gave a smirk and both young Monarchs rode their D-Wheels away from the bar.

* * *

The two Wind duelists stood in front of the gates of the Arcadia Movement. Yugo and Rin exchanged a look, seeing that the gates were heavily guarded.

"Do you think that we can even get to Akiza?" Yugo asked, leaning against his D-Wheel.

Rin shrugged. "Worth a try, right?" she replied. "And if we can't go in there the nice way~," Rin said, tilting her head, indicating what she was thinking. Yugo snickered and nodded as Rin winked at him. The amber-eyed girl headed to one of the security men at the gate.

"Hello," Rin said, politely, "I'm here to see a friend of mine-"

"Name," one of the security men demanded.

"...Rin," she replied.

The man looked at the clipboard that he was carrying. "Yes, your name is in here, please go right in miss Rin."

Rin blinked a few times. "Huh… that was easier than I expected," she mumbled before looking back at Yugo, who shrugged, not sure what to think of that.

"Okay, we'll need to park our D-wheels, and we'll be back then," Rin said.

"There is a parking lot inside, miss. Please head right in and take a left," the man said.

Rin blinked, looking suspiciously at the guards before exchanging a look with Yugo. No person of authority has ever treated either of them with any amount of that respect before, it was quite strange.

Deciding not to question it, for now, Rin and Yugo hopped back on their D-wheels, and rode through the gates, and into the parking lot. There were not many cars in there, but what they saw simply looked expensive and very clean, not a speck of dust on a window or the shiny shells of the cars, even the tires looked brand new on each one.

The two of them knew that they shouldn't stare, but couldn't help but look in wonder at the cars, Yugo's eyes were filled with stars as wanted to check each car out, he even extended his finger to touch one of the black ones, his finger as if in slow motion began to descend on the side of the car, before Rin grabbed his arm inches away.

Yugo whined looking at Rin with shimmering puppy dog eyes.

"As much as I would love to watch you gush about something Yugo, these cars probably have alarms installed in them, one-touch and everyone in this school would be here in seconds," Rin said, letting his hand go.

"Oh," Yugo pouted in disappointment. "Yeah, you're right."

Rin sighed, "Come on, let's go find Aki," she said, pulling Yugo away towards the giant… intimidating building. A lot of the students' eyes followed them as they walked through the school grounds before turning to each other and whispering. Rin glanced at them from the corner of her eyes before ignoring them.

Rin and Yugo reached the front door of what seemed to be the main building, before they could stop in front of the glass doors for a second the glass automatically opened letting them in, and the two of them walked in.

Simply looking at the main hall of the building made them blink and stand there in sheer awe, the walls were a nice shade of light brown, creamy, and some gold, the ground was cleaned to perfection it almost sparkled, and both wind duelists could see their reflections.

"So um…" Yugo said looking around, "Where do we go?"

"Hnn…" Rin hummed looking around at the hall, the stairs, the several hallways, and the elevator tilting her head to decide where they should head to… oh, maybe Freya could help them know where to go. But before the cat could show herself a woman stepped in front of the both of them. She looked in her mid-twenties, with short dark blonde short hair, thin-rimmed square glasses showing her light blue eyes, Rin noticed that the woman held a pad under her arm, wearing a black skirt that reached her knees, a white dress shirt with three white buttons with the first one undone. She smiled gently at the two fourteen-year-olds.

"You must be Miss Rin, and your… friend Yugo, correct?" the woman asked.

"Um… yeah," Rin said with uncertainty.

The older woman smiled. "I'm Maria Riess, nice to meet you."

"N-nice to meet you too," Rin said blinking. "How… do you know us, ma'am?"

Maria chuckled. "Well, Miss Rin, our founder Divine has seen you duel and he is very interested in speaking with you. You are quite the powerful duelist and from what he had seen a very distinguished psychic, and he truly wishes for you to join us. But I'll leave that for Mr. Divine to answer any questions you have. Now please follow me."

"Um, actually," Yugo said nervously, eyes darting around at the people around them. "We're just here to see if Aki...um Akiza wants to… spend time with us."

Rin nodded. "Yeah, so if you can point us to where she is, we'd be grateful."

"You can meet the Lady Akiza in Mister Divine's office," Maria said politely, as she led them to the elevator and pressed the button on the tenth floor. "You two have managed to charm Lady Akiza; that is quite a feat, she is, after all, our pride and joy at the Arcadia movement, and she really speaks highly of the both of you."

"Really?" Yugo asked with a big grin on his face, Rin looked at Yugo giving an amused one of her own.

"Yes," Maria said with a nod, before looking back at the two children and looking at them up and down. "I see you two like Dueling on a D-wheel," she commented.

"Yeah, we made our own to participate in the friendship cup," Rin said.

"Hmm, that's quite brave isn't it?"

"Brave?" Rin asked, tilting her head.

"Yes," Maria said, having turned her back to both of them. "I think it's quite terrifying. Riding on a D-wheel, with no guarantee of safety, the wind rushing through your body as you speed along the road, one wrong move and you could crash, an explosion of fire! It's quite scary isn't it?" despite her words, her voice didn't have a hint of fear in it, nor was it reprimanding, it was a bit breathless with a hint of excitement, the blond girl looked at the two of them over her shoulder with a smile and a glint in her deep blue eyes. With a blink, the glint was gone, and the gentle smile returned.

"Have you tried riding one before?" Rin asked.

"Hmm, yeah I have. We actually have training grounds for these sorts of duels, almost every student is required to at least learn the basics," Maria answered.

"Oh?" Rin questioned.

"So then, why doesn't Akiza know how to ride one?" Yugo wondered.

"Mister Divine is very protective of Lady Akiza, he doesn't want her harmed, it is dangerous after all."

Yugo sighed with an eye roll at the attitude towards the D-wheels, he clearly did not agree with that Divine guy on his sentiment. Rin was curious, however, why would a D-wheel course be mandatory for all the students? And why was Akiza the only exception? Divine could have been overprotective of her, yes, she seemed to be the jewel of the Arcadia movement, and yet… something seemed just a bit strange.

A bell rang as the elevator stopped and the three of them stepped outside, the walls had windows that reached the ceiling almost like glass doors, letting Yugo and Rin look outside the buildings where some of the students roamed, others dueled, and cars moved across the streets, they couldn't help but stop and stare down.

Maria stopped when she noticed that the two of them were not following her anymore, she looked back to see both of the teenagers looking with amazement and want in their eyes. Perhaps recruiting them to the Arcadia movement would not be hard at all. After all, the two of them looked so lost in such a place, clearly not used to such luxuries, and obviously, they truly desire to have it certainly wouldn't be hard to convince them, if Master Divine wanted both.

"Come on now you two, please don't keep Mister Divine waiting," Maria called to the both of them, drawing their attention back to her.

"Oh right, sorry," Rin said sheepishly, before exchanging a look with Yugo, and taking his hand, squeezing it, both to reassure him and herself. Yugo gave her a smile, his eyes shining with appreciation and adoration before looking ahead and following Maria once more.

The three of them reached a closed-door, Maria raised her hand and knocked on the door a few times before a voice told them to come in. Maria opened and the two younger duelists followed her.

"Mister Divine," Maria said. "I've brought our guests here as you asked."

Across the room sat a well-dressed man with red hair that reached his shoulders, a grey shirt with a black vest, he seemed to be reading a few documents. The man raised his head, giving the three of them a pleasant smile.

"Oh, hello, Miss Rin, Yugo," Divine greeted with a nod to both of them. Maria nudged both duelists to move closer. Divine's warm smile did not falter and extended his hand to shake both kids' hands. "So glad you could come for a visit. We've heard so much about the two of you, especially you miss Rin, you've truly impressed everyone during your previous duels."

"Thank you," Rin replied, though she could feel that something just… wasn't quite right. It might have been because she was quite nervous, all the fancy and luxurious things were very new to her, on the streets of Neo- Domino she could take care of herself no problem, the rules were clear, but between people with actual money and fortune, it almost seemed like one wrong step would get them shunned and judged.

"Miss Rin, tell me, have you given any thought to joining our organization?" Divine asked with an easy smile on his lips, relaxing in his chair.

"I have," Rin replied.

"And?" Divine asked, tilting his head, eager for her answer.

"Well I'm not sure yet," Rin said, her eyes sliding to the side before looking back at Divine.

"Oh? Why is that? Surely being part of our organization would give you great opportunities, ones I'm sure that you long for," Divine questioned, his smile remained albeit it seemed just a bit strained.

"Well, here's the thing, why me?" Rin asked. "This is a prestigious school, one even the Tops have a hard time getting into, and everything just seems expensive as fuck," she said, not noticing her profanity considering she had never had to filter herself before. "Nothing is ever offered for free, that's a thing you learn quickly enough, and yet I'm just offered to join this place, no offense but I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop."

"Hmm, I suppose that that is a fair concern, but I assure you, you'll be quite safe and taken care of here, I've seen you duel with my own eyes Rin, you are one of the talented and powerful duelists I've ever seen and it would be quite a waste to let you slip away without a fight."

"I see…" Rin replied.

"I'd like to give you a tour of our facility if you'd like, maybe it will help you make up your mind," Divine said.

Rin gave him a polite cold smile before she replied. "Maybe another time," she said. Rin didn't like this, didn't like it at all. Divine's interest in her of all people didn't feel right, it made something slimy and dangerous crawl down her spine. It could be because he was a stranger, that she could recognize the strange glint in his eyes. It could be the fact that Yugo was not included in the conversation at all, as if he was not even meant to be a second thought, that he wasn't as important as her, or important at all for that matter.

Also, the fact that this fancy school wanted her because of her powers. Akiza did say that the Arcadia Movement aimed to protect the Psychics from the other people around them, to let them find a place for them to fit in and belong, to call home, but no, something just wasn't right, she could feel it.

Before any of them could say more the doors opened. Yugo and Rin turned back to look at Akiza standing there and smiling brightly, which the two Wind Duelists returned.

Akiza beamed as she opened her arms and walked forward to wrap the two of them in a hug.

"Yugo, Rin, you're here!" Akiza said happily and let the two of them go.

Rin chuckled, her cold smile that was on her lips since she met Divine had finally left. "We wanted to see you before the big duel tomorrow," she said, "you know, just hang out, relieve some stress. And besides..."

"We've really missed you," Yugo said with a grin.

A cute blush appeared on Akiza's cheeks, her smile growing wider.

"So would you like to?" Yugo asked.

"To hang out?" Akiza questioned, tilting her head.

"Yeah," Rin said, raising her eyebrow at the obvious answer.

Akiza giggled. "Sure, I got nothing else I need to do today, right Divine?" Akiza asked, returning all attention to the red-haired man sitting behind his office, and giving the three a smile.

"Oh no, you're free my dear, go ahead, have some fun," the man replied.

"Thank you, Divine," Akiza said happily, taking Rin and Yugo's hands and ran out of the door excitedly.

The three-headed down excitedly, not paying attention to Divine watching the three of them leaving, smirking.

Akiza got the three of them down and headed to where the two had parked their D-wheels. Akiza sat behind Rin again, and the two drove to the gates. One of the men there stopped the three of them before speaking to Akiza.

"We could drive you anywhere you like Lady Akiza," he said, his sunglasses preventing the three of them from seeing if he was looking at the three disgustingly like some Tops did when they saw them running around.

Akiza shook her head, however, dismissing the man wordlessly before wrapping her hands tighter around Rin's waist. The green-haired girl gave a salute before speeding away, with Yugo hot on her heels.

Akiza smiled widely as she rode behind Rin, the wind running through her hair, her body moving faster than ever before while on these rides. She had stopped being afraid a while ago, understanding the exhilarating feeling that both Rin and Yugo do as well.

They rode around the city in an unclear direction, just taking in the buildings and streets as they zip away between cars through rodes, with Rin and Yugo racing each other.

...

…

...

After half an hour of riding around the three of them stopped by a park. Parking their D-wheels they sat down on the green grass under the shade of a tree, there were a few people around the park, a few couples, some children playing around.

"Are you excited for tomorrow then?" Rin asked.

Akiza smiled, turning to Rin, and nodded. "Yeah, you?"

Rin shrugged, with a small smile. "Nervous I guess, I mean, if you lose, you kind of lose nothing, but if I lose… well…" the green-haired girl trailed off.

Akiza looked a little dejected at her friend's words, this was a duel after all, and she had to show her powers, for the Arcadia Movement, to further themselves, but... she didn't want to hurt her new friend. And after all... The Arcadia movement always would have other tournaments to show themselves, to show off their power, so if Rin wanted to…

"If… if it means so much to you I can always-"

"Hey, no, don't you dare," Rin scolded her. "I refused to fight you if you don't give me your all. If you threw that match I'll be very angry with you, got it?" she said with a serious frown on her face.

Yugo snickered, making Akiza turn to him. "Yeah, you better not, Rin's pride wouldn't let her accept the win.

Akiza smiled and relaxed, now knowing that she didn't need to hold back for the sake of her friend, and Rin wouldn't be angry at her no matter who ends up winning...but...

"Okay, so how about a bet?" Akiza asked.

"A bit?" Rin repeated.

"Yeah, something to make things more interesting, makes us both fight as hard as we can," the red-haired duelist asked with an excited smile.

Rin smirked. "Alright, I'm listening."

"If you win I'll treat you to a no strings attached, no budget set shopping spree for both you and Yugo and another restaurant."

"Wahoo seriously?!" Yugo asked excitedly, eyes glimmering imagining all that both of them could buy, while Rin looked at Akiza with wide eyes.

"And if you win?" Rin questioned, raising her eyebrow and gesturing to Akiza with her hand.

"If I win you and Yugo join the Arcadia Movement," Akiza replied with a smile.

"Seriously? That's your bet? You know it's almost a win-win for me right?" Rin asked in disbelief at the offer.

"Well then you'll have no reason to say no right?" the red-haired duelist replied back.

"I guess…" Rin said, thinking.

"Take the bet Rin! This is the best situation we both could be in right now!" Yugo said, hugging Rin close and nuzzling her shoulder, wearing a big adorable smile on his face that melted Rin's heart.

Rin smiled softly, placing a playful kiss on Yugo's nose, making the crystal-eyed boy blush. " _Both_ me and Yugo?"

"Mhm," Akiza replied with a nod. "Divine would wanna test him though, see if he has any psychic powers and how strong they are."

"I see," the amber-eyed girl. "Are you two close?" Rin questioned.

"Hmm?" Akiza asked, not sure what Rin meant.

"You and Divine. You seem to hold him in high regard," Rin said.

"Oh," Akiza replied, before looking down and nodded, getting a sad look on her face. "Divine… saved me."

"What do you mean saved you?" Yugo asked softly.

Akiza hugged herself tightly. "I was thirteen years old… when my powers manifested," she started. "In a duel, I … I accidentally hurt my father, throwing him through the floor," tears began to fill in her eyes and her voice was shaking. "I was so terrified from what happened, I sent down to see my mother kneeling down beside my father looking so scared, and my father, he… he looked at me with such terror and fear… hatred. He… he called me a monster," the red-haired duelist whispered the last word with a gentle sob.

Rin placed her hand on Akiza's arm, while Yugo placed it on her shoulder, both trying to comfort her. "I ran, I just had to run. I didn't have anywhere to go but I didn't want to go back home. I kept running for days… until Divine found me. Told me he knew what I can do, that he admires me and my powers, that he'll never look at me with fear, and that he… he has a safe place for me to stay with him. That he'll, he'll make sure I'm by his side always."

It was painful… remembering it all, Akiza had loved her parents so much, they had been loving and doting on her before… before that accident had happened. Akiza had been scared, she didn't know what to do when she saw what she could do, and her parents' reaction to it. She never thought that she could ever go home.

At times, she would see her mother outside the gates of the Arcadia Movement, calling and crying, and Akiza's heart would break and want to go to her, to apologize, to ask her to go back, but Divine would put a hand on her shoulder, look at her with a sweet and caring smile telling her not to worry, and taking her away for more training, turning her back on her mother.

Her visits became less and less frequent as time went on, Akiza's father was never with her mother, not even once. Akiza knew that her life was with the Arcadia Movement though, because even with her parents, it would always, always be fear and hatred behind their eyes, she knew it would be.

"Akiza…" Yugo whispered softly, breaking Akiza from her thoughts

"Aki," Rin whispered gently, hugging Akiza close. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you remember bad memories."

Akiza's eyes widened at the care and comfort that her two friends were giving her, her heart was beating fast as she realized how happy it made her feel. Akiza took a deep breath and shook her head, whipping her tears. "I'm okay. It's just… sometimes it's just hard to remember, that's all."

Rin gave her a smile wanting to cheer her up, her eyes traveled around before landing on her D-wheel. Rin's grin widened and looked back at Akiza, "How about we start the riding lessons?" the amber-eyed girl suggested.

"Re-really?" Akiza asked, a bright smile gracing her face. She had been gathering the courage to try and learn, even asking Divine if she could, before he easily waved her off, saying that there was no need to do so. Despite that, Akiza still wanted to learn, going on rides with Rin and Yugo, tasting the thrill and the unexpected freedom made her want to learn even more.

"Yep," Rin replied with a grin, helping Aki up and leading her to the two barked D-wheels, Yugo scrambled to get up and follow them, the three of them excited to start the lessons.

Rin let Akiza sit on her D-wheel, and let her have a feel for the balance as both younger teens began to teach Akiza the basics of riding, beginning her first lesson.


End file.
